Bloodborn
by Blazing Tempest
Summary: Hiiro Bloodreaver, the final survivor of an abolished race, long incinerated by the ancient wars. Now, his own existence is a blasphemy to the world ruled by church. How will he deal with it? Rated M for future gore
1. Request

**Highschool DxD is not mine.**

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The sun had nearly set. People were becoming less and less outside, trying to rest after a day's work. A hooded figure walked to a bar, only to be greeted almost immediately by loud noise and laugh from inside. It wasn't rare for a bar to have loud music in it, but the noise inside was anything but music, unless a shout could somehow be called music.

" OI! Quit standin' all high and mighty and shut the f*** up!"

" Wanna DIE? HUH?!"

There was a little guy with a girl, surrounded by about 10 brutes with hypertrophy muscles, all tattooed and had their ears pierced. The woman looked scared as well, and her guy couldn't do anything. Slowly, he reached the girl's hand and wanted to run, but a meat wall obstructed his path. The black burly guy smirked and grabbed the girl's hand.

" Going somewhere, sweety?"

" Don't touch her!"

He recklessly lunged to the burly guy, knife in hand. He sliced the man's forearm, but the one getting hurt just scoffed and nailed him at the wall. His pals joined in and started beating the hell outta the guy without mercy. The girl was suddenly lifted with one arm and thrown to a table. She saw the brutes were going to rape her and rob her off her virginity. Her eyes watered up and she closed her eyelids, afraid of what's coming next.

" Noisy, isn't it?"

" I know."

A lean teenager with moderate height wearing a black jacket with grey t-shirt inside talked to someone with veil over her face. At least, until a shard of bottle flew to them. She touched her cheek, noticing trickles of blood on her palm

" Hm? Looks like I got cut…Wait, Hiiro!"

The teenager suddenly disappeared from the chair and reappeared beside the crying girl. He pulled out a pistol from his robes and used it to smack the guy drooling over her, earning a loud crack from his cranium. Then, he flexed his other arm and sent a devastating uppercut right to another guy's jaw, sending him flying to their friends beating the poor small guy around. In 3 seconds, they were all sleeping pieces-fully with their heads buried in the wall. He grabbed the guy that threw the bottle and lifted him with one hand.

" I don't care who you mess with, but stay the hell outta my girl, muscle-brain."

His fist glowed in eerie crimson aura, and with one punch, he blew up the bar's reinforced brick walls with the man's strong body as projectile. He sighed and turned, only to see a hooded figure standing in front of him. The veiled woman with him also rushed to his side, leaving two glasses of cocktails behind.

" You're…"

Instantly, the veiled one raised her hand and pointed at the hooded figure, fingers clad in blue fire. The hooded figure flinched and Hiiro stopped the veiled woman from skewering him. Those three walked to the corner, trying to ease off the tension and find a quiet place to talk.

" Are you a client?"

He nodded.

" Your name?"

Silence.

" Your face?"

…

" Look, if you don't give me any of your information, I can't help you. You know the working ethics here, right?"

The hooded figure hesitated, but he made up his mind and removed the hood, revealing a beautiful girl with long red hair and turquoise eyes. He widened his eyes at the revelation, not only because his client this time was a devil, but a royalty at that. He just knew she was a royalty. Look, her aura was regal and rich, it was like she contrasted with the place so much, it gave him headache.

" I'm Rias Gremory, I-"

*BOOM*

A man with blue hair and sturdy build entered the fray. Just by entering he changed the room's air considerably. He looked at all the guys inside like they were trash, but no one was stupid enough to make a move. With a single glance, anyone could tell that this man was dangerous, even though they were seasoned hitmen. The blue man fixed his eyes on the men laying unconscious on the bar ground then looked at Hiiro with discerning eyes.

" You did all this?"

" They needed a little lesson on how to treat pedestrians."

Both of them engaged a glaring competition, not moving an inch from their position. The blue guy sighed and turned back after telling his men to grab the unconscious ones and go out from the bar. But, just after Hiiro's shoulder drop a bit, he smirked and threw a blade right on his face. Just before it could reach him, his face adored a red hue, and crimson pattern appeared on his forehead. The blade made contact with his forehead, and with a bang, it broke in half.

" Blut vene"

The man widened his eyes in utter shock. Hiiro glanced down, only to see a pale light emanating from the blade.

" Ooh~ Chi blade, I see. No wonder it felt a bit hard." He flexed his arm and cracked his fingers casually.

Chi, the purest form of life energy in physical form. It emanated from a person's very being and was unique to each and every race. If utilized correctly, it would destroy internal organs and nerve system, rendering all kinds of shield and armor useless. In the world of hitmen, it was a high-end skill.

But, he just swatted it away like it was some kind of a toy.

" YOU!"

He pulled out several more blades, enhanced them, and threw them in rapid succession. The blades al targeted his meridian points, as expected of a veteran. Hiiro dodged them all nimbly, but one managed to rip his sleeve, revealing a chain tattoo on his bicep. It looked like a chain with a spiral inside.

" Tch. There goes my shirt. I'll have you pay for that, bastard."

He balled his fist and jumped with great speed, closing the distance between them in a blink of an eye. Hiiro nested his raw fist at the opponent's stomach and grabbed his shoulder, then gave him repeated knees on the same spot.

" Ugh…" Blood exited the corner of his lips.

" Don't sleep. We're not done yet."

He pushed him and landed an axe kick on his face. Then, he spun and kicked him off the ground.

" _This speed…this power…it can't be…"_

He had heard about rumors of a young freelance assassin who fought like a monster, despite being a greenhorn.

He had some kind of tattoo on his left arm and blood red eyes.

The blue guy fell to the ground with a thud, fainted. Before blacking out, he was very shocked to find the boy was the one his colleagues talked about in awe.

The Blood Dragon.

" Now with that finished…"

He picked up the man's wallet and paid the barman for the damages his men caused, then returned to his companions. The veiled girl sighed in annoyance, while Rias was looking at him in awe. Perhaps this person could solve her problem! He smiled at her and sat down.

" Sorry for the wait, Rias Gremory-dono. I think you were about to give me a request?"

She snapped out and met him in the eyes. Those red eyes had some depth to it, like she was sucked in to an endless vortex. Deciding to cut to the chase, she spoke of her request.

" Please help me break off my engagement."

She took out a pouch from her robes and dropped it in front of him. He looked at his partner and the pouch, then at Rias. She nodded, giving him a pass. To his shock, what was inside far exceeded any of his expectations.

" W-What's with this amount and quality? It's top grade bloodstones!"

He couldn't help but gasp. One bloodstone could buy an entire mansion, maids and butlers included. This pouch could buy an entire island and make a resort there! It was a very rare gem, universal for all races. He zipped the pouch and looked at his new client.

" Can you tell me the circumstances? Where did you get this kind of money, for example."

She looked down, obviously nervous. She played her fingers and gritted his teeth, until she looked to him, tears apparent.

" ….My whole life's amount of allowance."

A devil could live to thousands of years, and she was willing to sacrifice it all to break off an engagement. This fact made his head spin in circles. Just how much of a prick was the guy, anyway? He nodded to his partner and she set up an invisible soundproof barrier.

" I won't tell anyone. Pro's way of working."

She nodded and started to explain.

" I'm the heiress of the Gremory clan. Political marriages are everyday thing to me, but I want to avoid it at all costs. Who'd want to get married off with some random guy, anyway? This might sound very immature to you, but I've always dreamed of meeting a prince charming on white horse like in storybooks. But, I can't run anymore. My family forced me to a marriage with a Phenex man."

" I get it. Is he that much of a prick for you to be that disgusted with him?"

Rias held a disgusted expression on her face and continued.

" He sleeps with different women every night, plus he kicked around his lovers like they're dolls or something. He's just an arrogant dick who gets anything he wants from his parents. I'd be another trophy for him, and a toy to play with."

" A high class one, I assume. But, I get the situation."

He turned to his partner and she nodded. She improved the barrier to an invisibility one and unveiled herself.

Gods, she never saw someone more astounding.

She had a long straight silver hair reaching her waist, a regal face but with no arrogance like the rulers, and a very beautiful face with cerulean blue eyes and long eyelashes. She was like the epitome of natural beauty. She had fox ears with the same color of her hair, and nine silver tails moving behind her.

" To answer your trust, I've decided to trust you as well, heiress of Gremory. I am Tamamo no Mae, the fox goddess, well, some said I'm a divine beast, though."

She smiled, getting a big blush from both Hiiro and Rias.

" Rias-hime, I understand your request, as no woman would want to get married off to a prick like that, oops, a major prick, sorry. Hiiro, what do you think?"

She turned to the guy beside him, who was already near drunk.

" Seriously? It's just a glass of cocktail, damn it! How the hell did you get drunk by a glass of freaking cocktail, huh?!"

She grabbed his collar and started shaking him out of frustration. She finished by grabbing his head and slamming it to the poor table which cracked on impact. She sighed and turned back to her client. Hiiro also snapped out and looked at Rias with a big bruise on his forehead.

" I'm sorry. I just can't seem to calm down with this idiot around me."

Rias tried _really_ hard not to squeal at this cute moment, being a japanophile she was. She maintained her posture, albeit a little sweat drop from her forehead gave out everything. Tamamo seemed content after giving Hiiro a nice beating, and was smiling at her.

" Geez, why am I the only one you're so rough with? I never did anything wrong to you."

Hiiro complained to his partner and sighed. The bruise wasn't going to disappear until next hour, even with his superior healing ability. Tamamo looked at him with a tinge of blush on her pale face.

" Hmph! Stupid ignorant guy."

Hiiro started to shiver and muttered things he could've missed from caring to his partner. He remembered her birthday and gave her present, even went to her shrine sometimes if he had free time, and he'd cook her favorite food, which was sushi occasionally. She never complained with the food he cooked, so there's no way food was the problem. He even noted her hobby, schedule, and circumstances in a complete list. How could he be ignorant?

" Well, I am not as good as you in formulating plans…"

She threw another silent fit of rage at the guy and grabbed him in a headlock. He gasped, because lack of air and his face touching her breast. She didn't seem to notice and continued strangling him until his soul vaporized from his body.

" There he goes. Don't worry, if he doesn't want to die, he's a real tough cookie. Um, about your marriage, was it? We accept. What's your plan?"

Hiiro already stirred and sat up from the deadly strike earlier. She didn't lie, he was really tough nut to crack. That headlock should've put even a bear to sleep for several hours. He rubbed his neck and cracked it a few times.

" I expect your parents to give you some kind of a deal? It's what parents do to make kids do what they want. They give the kids some crazy task, if they can't do it, they'll have to obey, no questions asked. So, what's yours?"

Rias was silent for a few minutes. She bit her lower lips and after hesitating for another minute, she spoke.

"…Defeat my fiancé, Riser Phenex in Rating Game."

Hiiro pulled out a tab from inside pocket and browsed the internet, searching for Riser Phenex. But, it wasn't just the surface one, it was a website created by a demigod hacker, one of his colleagues, to inform about the news in supernatural world, whether it's Underworld, Heaven, or even Takahamagara or Olympus.

" Third son of royal phenex family, a leading devil king in Rating Games, and a peerage, wow, full of woman. 8 wins, two losses. And I take it you're inexperienced?"

She bit her lips until it bled, then nodded.

The duo looked at each other and sighed. In any way, the situation was really unfavorable for her.

" Your peerage?"

" One knight, one rook, one bishop, and a queen. No pawn."

Hiiro got down to a thinking pose. He put his hand below his chin, and his eyebrows arched. Tamamo looked at his partner and smiled. He might be stupid, but he was a pro. Pros learned, amateurs didn't. And as of now, he was smart in his area of expertise, in other words, assassination.

" …Prepare all your eight pawns. I'm going to become your temporary servant."

" What?"

Was Rias' only response, while the fox goddess was adoring a serious face.

" Are you serious?"

" I can eject the pieces if need be, and still keep my life. Look, Tama-chan. She's practically sacrificing this much just to be free, and I want to honor that. Blood magic is meant for something like this."

The fox goddess held a frown then turned to Rias with a cold look on her face. She stood up and walked out of the bar, prompting the two of them to follow her. When they finally caught up to her, there was already a ritual circle there with a powerful barrier erected to prevent any mortal from entering.

" Okay, Hiiro. You need to lower your power, or those pieces are going to be overwhelmed. This barrier can weaken your power a bit, but it's still not enough for her to reincarnate you."

Rias pulled out her eight pawn pieces, and wow, 3 of them were already mutated. Maybe this could work, after all.

" What's your full name?"

" I'm Hiiro Bloodreaver."

She pushed all eight pawn pieces to Hiiro's chest and murmured.

" I, Rias Gremory, hereby revive you as my new pawn. Rise from your death and be delighted by you new life!"

All eight pawn pieces glowed before changing colors. From normal red to dark maroon with black lines on them, then they were absorbed into his body.

" A-All of them mutated?! I-Impossible!"

" Trust me, kid. When you're dealing with him, you'll find that impossible is really one vague word."

Tamamo commented on the transformation.

" Hhmm…No big deal. It's easier than I thought."

He looked at Rias intensely.

" Umm…what?"

Suddenly, he ran to her. She put her arms up to protect herself, but instead of collision, she was greeted by a gust of wind.

" The order has come!"

"…Eh?"

Hiiro greeted a mailman behind her and unwrapped the package like a kid. Inside the box was several firearms, ranging from miniguns to SMGs.

" Ooh! Magnus 0-4000, two customized nossbergs and Ithacas!, And what's more a Hecate with silencer! Nice!"

He put his hand over the weapons and they all disappeared. Truly, it wasn't all that weird for a devil, they used seals all the time.

" Rias Gremory. This is my number. When time comes, you have to train, and I can help you with that. At least try not getting wiped out before I beat Phenex."

He shoved a piece of paper to her palm and left along with his partner. Rias could only stare at their figure and decided to return to her home, praying to whoever God the devils could beg to and hoping for the best.

" You just _had_ to lie to that girl, didn't you?" The cute fox girl crossed her arms below her impressive bust and scowled at a male removing his black jacket. He put it on a hanger and turned to her.

" C'mon, don't be like that. You know whether I lie or not won't change the outcome. She will be free, and I keep my promises."

" And then you can get enough money for a lifetime. Honestly, isn't being a good hitman and agent enough for you?"

The male, named Hiiro Bloodreaver, smiled at her. He shook his head in disagreement, and started making dinner.

" Not really. I heard that bloodstones are unique to Underworld."

Her eyes constricted and she made clacking sounds with her tongue. It's what she'd do when she was agitated with something or extremely nervous, so he didn't mind it. Besides, she looked cute when flustered.

"…Do you intend to search information with that? The demon clan?"

One of the downsides dating a smart girl, she could crack your head open and see whatever inside just from talking with you. No secrets, ever. He gave out an obvious chuckle, clapping at her deduction skills.

" You're as impressive as ever, Tama-chan. I'm honored to have you as my girlfriend, no kidding."

He never complimented her much, as being a goddess meant she could get all the compliments and insults like water, and she could never say she wanted to be praised. So, his praises would always get a place in her heart. She couldn't contain her smirk and her rosy hot feeling coming out as fox flame.

" Um, Tama-chan? It's getting hot here."

She snapped out of her trance and toned down her flames to room temperature. Her face looked down in shame. She was a goddess! She shouldn't be too happy over one praise, even if it was from him.

" Dinner's ready. I hope you like it."

It was a big bowl of nikujaga. He put it in front of her and she took a bite, just to have a little taste. But, she frowned, stood up, then emptied the whole bowl in the sink, and threw away all that remained. His protests were unheard.

" Hey! I put my all to it!"

She hooked the apron behind her waist and turned to him with a sad frown on her face. She pulled out a frying pan and bonked his head with it.

" And your all was going to kill both me and you, dolt. Honestly, you're anything but a cook. I wonder how you could survive before meeting me."

" …Cup ramen."

" Thought so."

She let out a hearty giggle and used the remaining ingredients to whip up another meal for both of them. And voila! Salad and nikujaga, without deadly poison inside. He took a bite and paled at the taste. It was like the flavor could dance inside his mouth, giving him the perfect happiness he could ever get from food.

" Godly blessing, Hiiro. Enjoy it."

He savored the heavenly taste before gulping it, and wolfed down the rest like there was no tomorrow. Tamamo giggled at his antiques and started eating with graceful style, in contrast to her partner across her.

After they both were done, Hiiro took their plates and washed them, while Tamamo drying the plates and putting them back o the shelf. Their closeness even made the single lovebird outside the window chirp loudly in protest, not that they paid any mind, though. Having done all of the chores remained, they decided to enjoy the time they had, if only Hiiro could stop looking from his laptop, tuning his website.

" Okay, I'm done. Sorry for the wait, Tama-chan. I've got quite some disturbing comments on my site lately."

" When it's just an agency site? How come?"

" You know, when people don't like you, they try your hardest to bring you down. I can't believe they accused me to stealing money from buyers. I'm just connecting the seller and buyer, nothing more."

" Well, their loss. Blacklist them, will you?"

" Already done."

She smirked at how they think the same, and how they could communicate without something as vague as words. It was good they didn't have to rely on that method if need arose, such as fatal battles, which she hoped they wouldn't have to be involved in for a long time.

After all, a war meant all he'd been working up until now could crumble anytime to little pieces, and it was the last thing she wanted. Not after he'd finally found something to be proud of. He was a good man, not counting his cooking skills.

Rias Gremory sat inside her clubroom, still praying to whatever God she could pray to. Riser had already made an assignment to come to Kuoh, which meant her time to formulate plans was further reduced.

" Please let me believe…Blood Dragon"

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 **Rate and Review. Thank you for reading!**


	2. Phenex and Training

**Thank you for the 115 views and 6 likes I get on the first day. *bow* I made this story out of interest, and it turned out…Well, enough chit-chat, This is Bloodborn chapter 2! Enjoy!**

 **Highschool DxD is not mine, of course.**

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It happened faster than he thought. Now, Hiiro was standing inside a dark alley, intending to face his foolish pursuers here and end them quickly, preferably without being noticed. He couldn't believe they'd find him like that. Perhaps the church had made more deals to the darker world than he thought.

HIS world, that is.

Hitmen would reveal any kind of information if they had a pack of money right in front of their face. Maybe making a name in his world so quickly wasn't a very wise decision, after all. He didn't expect this kind of situation would arise from his flawless professional acts. He should've listened to Tamamo before.

" At last, we've found you, hhh…, vile being! Hhh…, Surrender yourself to God's grace!"

About ten men in white robes holding light swords caught up to him. Funny, how they made threats while catching their breath. He muffled his laugh and grinned.

" Take a deep breath, guys. You'll feel better."

They took his advice then suddenly gasped.

" HEY! Don't sway us with your filthy tongue, mongrel!"

He shook his head in exasperation and sighed audibly. He just helped these guys catch their breath, and he got this? What did they learn in church, anyway? At the very least, couldn't they say 'thank you'?

" My, you all have rough tongues. You sure you're the children of God? Have you ever heard God swearing to His enemies? No matter. I'm tired so I'll spare you guys…30 seconds, I guess? There's someone waiting me, and I can't be late."

They lunged at him, some with guns some with swords. Some even went yolo and used their fists to fight. However, due to their number, they couldn't fight to their full potential in this kind of terrain.

Freaking noobs, not knowing basic terrain advantage.

…

" Hmph. Waste of time. They can't even last 5 seconds. Now, to this restaurant…crap! I forgot to charge my phone! It's out of battery!"

He grabbed one of the battered priest and pushed his to the wall.

" You know where the Le Bleu Restaurant is?"

The exorcist already wanted to faint, with his whole body aching like crazy. This man just pummeled them without even sparing a glance at them. He gave him detailed information, not wanting to anger him further. Hiiro nodded and threw him back to the back of the alley. He walked away, much to the priest's chagrin. But, suddenly a red liquid blade jutted out from his heart.

" Sorry, but I can't have any of you relay any information about me."

He walked out of the alley, leaving a pile of corpses in his wake. Those ten priests were all impaled by at least 10 red stakes each, stabbing all their vital areas, and yes, the part that would be very painful to get hit if you're a man too. The man who told him about the restaurant only got one spear in his heart. Now that's a record.

" Aa-ah. I'm going to be late at this rate."

He ran to the designated restaurant in full speed, not wanting to make his beloved angry. IT would be too scary to imagine, much less experienced. Oh, the horror. He remembered her grilling him black slowly because he accidentally fell on her. Despite that, she never really wanted to kill him, of course. With his level of regeneration, her flames would only involve wounds that he'd recover in mere minutes. That's how much she calculated her torture before throwing it at him.

But, getting char-broiled is still painful, so he'd pass.

He met another priest who wanted to kill him again while screaming loudly about abomination here and there, but he used one finger and pushed it to his chest. Suddenly, the crazy priest froze and fell to the ground with foams in his mouth. He smiled and waved to people around him and told them about his 'shock therapy'.

" _Well, using your bloodlust to virtually kill your opponent is cool."_

Apparently, it could fix insanity, with large paranoia and trauma as side effects. Pretty good deal if you asked me.

He finally reached the restaurant, and found that Tamamo was already getting hit on by a bunch of hormonal males. Some was even drooling at her. Disgusting perverts like them should be cleansed, especially for drooling over a goddess, or divine beast? Eh, formality, screw you.

" Sorry I'm late. Traffic issues."

He entered the fray. All men staring at her turned to him and laughed. They shooed him like he was a little kid.

" Oi, kiddo. Go away and get some milk there. This is for adults only."

One of them even pushed him back. He thought, good luck, and willed his energy to send the man back to hell. The guy who touched him flew across the room and crashed to the window, and fell down from the third floor.

" We're taking this outside if you want, gentlemen. No one, absolutely no one flirts with Tama-chan."

The men gulped and looked at their bloody comrade, who had become a dead carcass below them. They understood that even if they sued him by law, it wouldn't even be self defense because Hiiro didn't even touch him. Magic? That was impossible. Hiiro had just pushed his body forward, sending the man flying with brute strength.

Oh, there were many kinds of people.

And this one was an example of a very foolish one.

This brave (LOL) man walked to him and they went outside. Looks like he was the leader of that mob earlier, with buff body and muscles, just like what a gay would like.

" Yuck"

Was Hiiro's only thought.

But, he didn't even have to raise his hands, as Tamamo suddenly threw her bag with such precision and power that the target crumpled to the floor instantly. Turned out, the bag was filled with spells used to enlarge space, to make sure she didn't have to grab another bag every now and then.

Cute, smart, and violent. What could be wrong?

He lifted his hands and put all humans inside to sleep. He set it so they wouldn't remember anything except what they were eating. Then, he left the place, dragging Tamamo behind him. She let herself be dragged, albeit with a frown on her face. He looked at his watch and noticed why.

He was half an hour late.

" Mou, I can't believe you're late. I don't mind, but they'll start attacking me. What will you do if you find a bunch of guys ravaging your girlfriend?"

" I'll turn this whole world to hell and send them to the pit. My brethren know how to make people suffer eternally. I'll join them, just in case. But, it's not like anyone can do that. I'm sorry, Tamamo. I should've cared more."

She placed her head on his back.

" Even for once, a girl wants to feel protected, you know? I can defend myself, but I'm happy to see you doing that."

She straightened up and gave him a slap on his back.

" Well, you're an idiot at this thing, so chill. It's not like I'm going to leave you because of one botched date. We can go together later."

" Yeah."

Man, she was awesome. He was really lucky to have her. How many women had beauty and gorgeous personality, anyway?

" Why are you smiling?"

" Nah. I'm just pretty happy being with you."

She blushed at his response, but her pride as a female stopped her from letting him get any satisfaction of making her blush. She'd usually hide her face in work because if anybody knew that Hiiro's partner was her, it could cause a huge riot and a bunch of troubles to deal with later. But, now, she was more than free to not wear a mask.

They both attracted a little too much attention.

Hiiro's phone vibrated, and he quickly picked it up.

" Hello."

" Gremory-hime. You've decided when to train?"

" Please come here, to Kuoh Academy."

Then, she hung up. He wanted to ignore her plea, but his guts told him that she wasn't in good position to have a nice, long chat over phone. Tamamo nodded to him, and they both marched to one of the devils' stronghold, Kuoh Academy.

They reached the academy in no time, considering Tamamo's sense of direction was far more advanced than Hiiro. Going to the Occult Research Club's room, they barged in, ready for battle of either wits or strength.

" What's this, Rias? Another batch of your servants?"

Tamamo growled at the comment, only to see a man in his late twenties flirting with Rias, who had a disgusted look on his face. The man turned to her and looked straight at the fox goddess, who raised one eyebrow. He smirked and walked to her with cocky attitude.

" What's your name, beautiful? Riser here wants you to know him better."

He put one hand on her chin, getting another _very_ disgusted look on her face. Before she could rip off his hand and castrate him, Hiiro took the initiative and shot his hand, head, and chest with magically infused bullets from his magnum gun. Everyone stared in shock as Riser screamed in agony when he tried to regenerate. His head popped out, alright, but the pain was simply excruciating.

" Y-you brat! How dare you!"

Hiiro shot him with a deadly glare, seriously tempted to test his new shotguns on this spoiled immortal kid, especially his new Ithaca 37 he got yesterday. But, shame, a magic circle appeared and a woman in her early 20s appeared. She was maturely beautiful, although she paled in comparison with Tamamo, but still pretty. Her silver hair was tied to braids, and she wore a traditional French maid uniform.

" Riser-sama, cease this ridiculous action, and you, who just shot a hole through a Phenex heir. The penance will be severe."

She said that with serious tone, although she had a slight smile on the last part. Perhaps Riser was famous as an Underworld-class prick. In that case, there might be less risk of getting hunted after he ripped him to little pieces.

Riser was still agitated, and flared his aura. Orange flames raged inside the room, raising the temperature to beyond human endurance. Grayfia was ready to match his power, but she felt like something snapped inside the unknown man and halted.

She was glad she made that choice.

At least, she had time to make a barrier against the coming dread that threatened to destroy both the room and everyone inside. Hiiro suddenly released a vast amount of power, dwarfing both her and Riser's magic power combined. It felt like a flood of fiery red liquid that stormed their very being, expanding with time. She winced when the flooding energy started to turn into matter. She'd heard about the theory that energy created mass and matter, but she couldn't fathom how much energy would be needed to do so.

Until she found her barrier corroded before her own eyes.

Crimson sticky liquid made her barrier crumble to pieces, when it's supposed to hold off ultimate-class attacks. The shield boiled and sizzled, until she must drop it before it could corrode her body and soul as well. She wanted to create another shield, but she fell backwards to Rias' hands, already out of magic power.

" W-What? I'm out of magic?"

She stared at her hands in disbelief. Those hands, which had ended many magicians with their own techniques, couldn't hold off a nameless guy's burst of energy. She was the queen, the queen! The one hailed as the best mage Underworld had to offer was outmatched by a random burst of energy.

" Well, don't feel too bad about it, silver queen of annihilation."

She found herself protected by a transparent golden barrier that banished any blood touching it to non-existence. The fox goddess herself had raised her arm to prevent them from getting corroded to the core by the blood splattered everywhere. But, there was someone who took the full brunt of that burst.

Riser was rolling on the ground, wailing in agony as the blood melted his skin and flesh in speed far surpassing his regeneration. He recovered, alright, but not fast enough. Tamamo sighed and put her hand on Hiiro's shoulder.

" That's enough already."

He shivered and exhaled. All the blood present drifted away, and the room dried, although the damage was still present. Nearly all tables, sofas, chairs, and walls there were destroyed beyond repair, like the room was sprayed by a whole truck of very potent acid. The fox goddess raised her hands, and all the damage caused by her partner was reversed. After a few minutes, the room was already polished beautifully.

Except for the poor phoenix.

" Hear me, Riser Phenex! I am Hiiro Bloodreaver, newest pawn of Rias Gremory. IF you dare hurt even a strand of her hair, I'll have you experience the most terrifying death known to mortals."

That was embarrassing.

But he had no other idea on how to introduce himself.

Man, he wished he had the brains to pull out an amazing plan like Tamamo, instead, he could only make plans to fight. Political war was completely out of his mind. He had to rely on her when time came.

Some boyfriend he was.

By revealing the extent of his strength here, the enemies could find a way to stop him from entering the battle, which would mean Rias' defeat. He forgot that he was still new in her peerage, which would make banishing him before battle easier for them. But, he couldn't just keep a cool head while Tamamo was being flirted and touched by that crispy fried mongrel over there.

"Riser-sama. This is why I told you to stop."

Grayfia struggled to stand up, even with Rias' help.

" He's far stronger than you."

Riser coughed and wheezed, trying hard to catch his breath. His peerage came, worried about what might happen to their master. Now, he was being helped by a voluptuous purple-haired woman that seemed to be his queen. He stood up and escaped to a magic circle summoned by his bishop. Grayfia turned and faced the Gremory princess.

" Princess, you will have 2 weeks to train your peerage and develop a strategy to defeat Riser. As strong as your pawn may be, it will all be for naught if you're taken down, I hope you remember that."

She also disappeared from the room.

* * *

The ORC had already prepared for departure to the training camp Gremory clan owned. They'd been granted permission from Sona Sitri, who oversaw the school's maintenance as Student Council President. The perk of knowing the STC president well, you got to skip classes without much consequence. Hiiro and Tamamo also came, with Tamamo taking a younger form of her, about 16 years old. They didn't bother getting a car and transported themselves to the place with magic circle.

" Okay. The place is up there. C'mon everyone, pick up your things and march up as fast as you can!"

'As fast as you can', she said.

Funny, she was talking about a-DAMN-MOUNTAIN!"

Not like it was too big deal, but it wasn't wise to wear them out before training even began. But, why would he care? He had his request, and that didn't involve worrying about her servants' endurance. He lifted his pack and floated up just a few inches from the ground. Tamamo also did the same.

Magic was handy, no doubt about it.

After they all had changed, all of them gathered outside. Kiba and Rias in their jerseys, Koneko, Asia and Akeno in gym uniforms, while Hiiro wearing a casual green T-shirt and shorts. Tamamo was just an onlooker this time, intending to evaluate them first. 'Know thyself, know thy enemies, and win a thousand battles' was her favorite phrase.

" Umm, I'm a brawler, so I can only teach Koneko. Kiba, I'll see your sword skills later, so try 1000 swings for now. Rias and Akeno, practice your magic. Tama-chan, if you please?"

She stood up and guided the Great Ladies of Kuoh to some intensive magic training, or at least wanted to, until Rias raised her hand.

" Can I know about your ability?"

He stared at her, then looked up, then crossed his arms. After a long minute of consideration, he nodded. A client deserved to have knowledge of his power level, after all. It's just a regular work ethic. All to make his client relieved. He reached for something invisible in the air, and his hands disappeared, then reappeared when he pulled it back. He had a simple sack which released clanking sounds whenever he shook it.

" This."

He pulled out a small, round metallic ball, with diameter around 2 cm. He looked at their surprised reactions, and shoved the sack to his pocket. Everyone came near him, trying to figure out what could be so special about this little thing.

" Pachinko balls?"

He nodded. Then, he proceeded to hold out his arm, and placed the pachinko ball between his thumb and pointer, like he was going to flick.

" Get behind me, at least 3 meters far. You don't want to get hit, I assure you."

Electricity sparked from his body, and formed loops. It crackled, mostly focused on his right hand. Even from that distance, the devils could still feel tingles on their skin. The sparks must be high voltage. He concentrated for a while, and finally flicked the pachinko ball.

It flew in a speed that would make sound ashamed. They heard a boom from distance, and saw that the hill had another crater on it, like a giant had decided to play volley there, and went 'Oops, I missed my spike, teehee~'. From Hiiro's position, there was a blazing trail on the ground, extending to the massive crater there. He turned to the spectators, and found them failing to close their mouths.

" How's that? Good enough for you?"

They snapped out of their shock. Akeno was the first to launch questions.

" What was that?"

" My variety of railgun. If you're skillful enough with thunder manipulation, you can do this too. You'd need great amount of magic to generate the fuel electricity, though."

They stared at the blazing trail Hiiro had just made so casually. He just shot a railgun using a mere pachinko ball, and threw a blast good enough to blow up tanks. Tamamo smiled proudly at his feat.

" Just for your information, that wasn't even 10% of his maximum output. If he put too much, the pachinko ball wouldn't hold out."

" Well, I can use tougher metals to whip up stronger shots, but that's more than enough for demonstration, I guess."

They were all thrown to an awkward silence, until a certain queen broke it.

" ….I wanna learn that."

Tamamo had Akeno, Asia and Rias covered, so he basically had the rook and the knight to train intensively. But, really, servants of Rias Gremory were…unique, especially the queen and the rook. Both of them were hybrids, and each held little to no mastery over their born element. He wondered how often they talked to Rias about this, and why the hell did they reject their birthright? He just couldn't understand that.

" Hey, you're a nekomata, right? Try using your power."

The white-haired mascot flinched, and looked down, suddenly interested in her feet. Getting no response, he turned to the blonde knight.

" Which is your sacred gear, Blade Blacksmith or Sword Birth?"

Kiba looked at him in surprise. This man had figured out his sacred gear and Koneko's heritage like flipping the back of his hand. His only flaw was his inability to identify his sacred gear, but that was already a close call.

" How did you know?"

Out of curiosity, he asked that question. Feeling no harm would be done if he answered the knight, he enlightened him.

" You smell like melted iron, and blood. You, chibi, smell like milk and yarn. Your power hasn't matured? Have you ever used it before?"

They looked at each other, trying to swallow how they had been found out by Hiiro's miracle nose. Hiiro shrugged, and clapped to get their attention. He focused on Kiba first. It's better to teach someone who didn't hate his power first. He'd handle the mascot girl later.

" Now, try making a sword, the strongest one you can create using that sacred gear of yours."

He obliged, and created a sword he always had hanging on his waist. The one he called 'Holy Eraser'. Even without asking, he could figure out what the sword was capable of, and it was very disappointing. He glanced at Kiba and sighed.

" Are you serious? We're fighting against devils here. Will you use that sword anyway?"

He nodded.

" You stupid or what?"

A massive arrow with 'idiot' written on it stabbed Kiba with an audible 'jleb'. He recovered from that mental strike quickly, only to find some more coming. Hiiro closed one eye and began lecturing the poor knight.

" Your sword is useless against anyone who doesn't have holy element. Why'd you bring sword of darkness to the darkness itself, anyway? Your sword's power won't be any good, you might as well buy one at the scrap shop and use it against Phenex."

Kiba was already buried below a ton of bricks, each had 'idiocy', 'useless', and many other insults the hitman just threw at him. Koneko shook his head at their antics and started doing push-ups to kill time. Hiiro's lecture continued until dawn (just kidding), and Kiba was already half-dead from getting his pride stepped on about a thousand times.

" So, you get it? DON'T—USE—THAT—SWORD!"

He emphasized his point so clearly, with no place of argument. Kiba rose up with a tired face and glared at him.

" So, what do I have to do?"

" Try making as many varieties of swords as possible. You should be specific on what sword you want. Its concept, power, and uses. Imagine it as your other hand."

He then turned to Koneko, who had finished her 200 push-ups.

" For you, little kitty, I'm going to have you learn Senjutsu whether you like it or not…Don't worry, I'll be gentle."

This girl was a rook piece, so surely she wouldn't fall to one or two punches, right? Maybe 30 seconds if he's lucky. Rooks were supposed to have solid defense, after all. But still, he might have to hold back if he wanted to play longer.

" Chibi girl, I'm using my legs only. Feel free to pulverize, hit, and vent out all your stress on me. Just make sure I can't go back up."

Koneko puffed her cheeks in frustration. Ever since she met this guy, it'd been chibi girl, kitty cat, or mascot-girl. She was going to let this guy have a taste of her mind. She was a rook, after all, meaning she had the ultimate strength. Nothing could go wrong, right?

" You suck."

Hiiro stood over the fallen girl, with restless breath and ragged clothes. Not accepting her defeat, she stood up and tried to land a flying kick on his jaw. He leaned back, then swayed his hips, slamming the girl and sending her to the ground again. She jumped up and started lashing out a combo of punches at him.

" I see…boxing, huh?"

He deflected her punch with his leg, and without touching the ground, he spun again, and landed a roundhouse kick to her shoulder. After his foot touched the ground, he body-slammed her, sending her away again. He ran to her, finding her fist suddenly appeared in front of his face. He side-stepped and let it pass, then kneed her stomach.

" You're too vulnerable, kitty."

He put down his leg and kicked her full-force, sending her high to the sky. She coughed, but Hiiro was ready below. She curled up and rolled on the ground to avoid impact. She recognized his style of fighting, mostly after watching competitions on Youtube.

" Taekwondo?"

If so, then there's no wonder he looked so comfortable fighting with only his legs. But, even so, kicks needed balance, and with his hands pocketed, he wasn't in optimal form. His kick was at least one-third of his full power.

And it was more than enough to break her magically enchanted defense as a devil.

He let out a hearty laugh at her deduction, then he bent down, leveling his eyes to hers. His eyes had a dangerous glint, and he made sure she couldn't let it slide.

" That's right~ Now that you know, try to defeat me—"

He found Koneko unfurling her tails and ears in a second, and the next second his reflex had already taken charge of his body, evading the strike with narrow margins. He ducked from a blast she released from her hand, and avoided an aura-clad kick with a back-flip. He landed about 3 meters from her and clapped.

" Okay, training's done. Good job, you're now a proud nekomata, Koneko-chan."

He left her and went to see how the blonde knight was doing. The white-haired loli followed behind him, but not before slipping her tails and ears back inside her body. He found the knight being restless in front of a bunch of swords he'd generated from his gear. But, with a glance, Hiiro could tell that all their difference was their ability. There was no different in strength whatsoever.

" _I see. This boy's a natural technique-type. That explains his pitiful strength."_

Ironic, how he used the terms 'boy' on someone of his same age, probably older by a few months. Kiba noticed their presence and frowned. Koneko was done, but he hadn't progressed much.

" If this goes on, I'll be deadweight, damn it…"

He silently cursed his inaptitude. Hiiro closed in and looked at his creations then he shook his head and plucked one of them.

" Oi, Kiba. Rather than using what you want with the swords, feel what you want. Your gear will respond to your emotions, not your selfish desires. If sacred gear could grant desires so casually, it'd be chaos. So, it'll only respond to your hidden self, your true one. Try thinking of the reason you like 'Holy Eraser' so much first, the rest will come later."

He commented at his struggle. Then, he had a light bulb above his head, and poked Kiba's shoulder.

" Hey, how about mimicking a sword you really like? That should be easier than making an original, right?"

He pondered that idea, then nodded. He raised his hand and chanted.

" Come to me, sword hated by the Gods, devour the divine will, and rage upon their being. Bring the world to ruin…"

He chanted while imagining his loved sword, but alas, he'd never been able to make it. He imagined the sword so powerfully, that his gear responded in kind.

" Demon sword, Felo' Melorn!"

The malefic sword of the last blood elf, Kael'thas. The sword he'd wanted so much, ever since he played WoW. Frostmourne was more famous, but he thought the sword that could be more powerful upon each reconstruction was great.

That sword took shape of a red sword with golden hilt, and runes all over the blade. It had strange shape, like it was battered and reformed again. It was clad in red aura with evil sorts of feel emanating from it. Hiiro clapped at this new creation, and examined the blade closely. This aura was dense enough to halt the regeneration traits of a phoenix, albeit momentarily.

" Okay, good enough. Now, swing that sword 100 times, then a spar with me."

Kiba nodded, although his arms were already sore, but he cast them aside to test this new sword of his. Even if it was by one-tenth percent, he wanted to add the possibility of them winning very much.

It took about an hour for him to do the full-course, and he was now lying on the ground, rubbing his sore muscles. Hiiro glanced down at him, his sword, actually, examining it again and again. He'd never seen a devil making this kind of sword. It's crude and unsightly, yet it was more powerful than the carefully crafted ones.

" Come on. Enough rest, let's spar."

Hiiro rose his head and cracked his knuckles. Kiba also stood up reluctantly. His hands felt like they might come off any second. Noticing his blisters, Hiiro flicked his fingers, and the blisters suddenly felt cool and okay, at least better than before.

" There, a little healing magic."

He twisted his hands, seeing no remains of his previous blisters. It was like Hiiro pulled up a magic eraser and erased his wounds from existence. He once again summoned his newly acquired sword, and fixed his stance. Hiiro tilted his head and also adopted a stance, a weaponless one.

" I'm using a sword, you know."

" So?"

" Won't you use weapon, too?"

Hiiro laughed at him, holding his sides like his life depended on it.

" You're a knight, but no need to fight like one, man! Enemies won't wait and neither should you. The moment you enter a battle, it'll be kill or be killed. That's what a fight is."

"…Gotcha."

He nodded and suddenly swiped his sword to Hiiro's neck. A loud bang was heard, like metal against metal.

" …And after you say those things, huh? What a—"

" What a—what, eh? Spill out, blondie."

Hiiro spoke in a rather unclear tone. His words were muffled, like he stuffed too much food to his mouth. Kiba opened his eyes to see him stopping his sword by gripping them between his teeth.

" Better yet, don't blink."

He bit off a chunk of the blade and spewed it aside, then landed a sharp elbow at Kiba's gut. He stumbled backwards, his midsection screaming from the attack earlier. The worst wasn't that, but the fact that he didn't stop there.

He hurriedly created some swords, each broke upon impact with his feet or fists. How could someone break forged steel like some paper doll, anyway? His swords might be mediocre, but they were still made of reinforced steel! Hiiro aimed a kick at his jaw, and unfortunately, he couldn't make swords to protect himself there.

" Oi, stop waiting and start acting."

He opened one eye, and saw Hiiro stopping a centimeter below his chin. From the looks of it, he might have to get fake teeth if a kick like that connected to his jaw. Luckily, they had a healer who could heal pretty much everything.

" You know…I've been attacking once you show reaction, yet you still close your eyes and wait for it."

Kiba frowned at that fact. No matter how trained he was, he just couldn't get rid of this annoying habit of his. Being afraid of getting hit was natural, as natural as yawning. But, if you yawned at an important meeting, it's all over. The same goes for battle.

" I can't help it! My reflex won't allow me to open my eyes!"

" Then, be calm. A hot-headed fighter is strong, but you're not one of them. They have nerves of steel. So the only thing you can do is try calming down. If you're calm, you can take on any kind of attack without even wincing."

Kiba calmed himself, trying to imagine himself inside a cave with a fountain. He focused on the dropping water, and his breath stabilized.

" Good. Open your eyes and try to dodge this."

He opened his eyes calmly, to find Hiiro flipping a coin in mid-air, his body covered in electric sparks, and his hand ready to flick it.

" Eh?"

The last thing he saw was Hiiro's smile and an unavoidable beam racing up to him.

" Man, I didn't expect him to faint like this."

He looked at the unconscious body of Rias' knight, thinking on what he should do to this guy. He couldn't believe this knight was so shocked, he collapsed on-spot, and after he stopped the coin right in front of his face.

" What a hassle…"

" What's a hassle, Hiiro-kun? Perhaps you got overexcited and pummeled the knight to half-death or something?"

He heard a melodic voice across the field, and saw Tamamo walking to them. She cast a little glance over Kiba's state and glared at him.

" Now this would be a trouble. How are you supposed to bring him back?"

" Me?"

" Yes, you. Who scared this guy to sleep, huh?"

She pointed his finger at him. It should've been her scolding him, and he hated getting scolded, but her grin betrayed everything. He grabbed Kiba's limp body and slung him over his shoulder, like carrying a sack of rice. If it were female, he'd be more careful, but Kiba's a strong man. Surely he could take being carried around like a sack for a while….right?

" Hmmm….Who I guess? Do you have any idea, Tama-chan?"

She slapped his face hard, but when he turned back, there was no bruise.

" I don't mind whoever it is, just be attracted to women, dolt."

He had several question marks above his head, and the fox goddess released a heavy sigh. He is a man, it's a fact that he's attracted to women, and what's more, currently his only attraction was the fox goddess, who easily surpassed anyone in beauty, at least for him. You can't be with a person that beautiful and not getting used to gorgeous girls.

She was _that_ perfect.

He shrugged, and started running down the hills. He was already late for dinner, and being sweaty was the worst thing you could do while you're near a girl. Shortly later, they both, along with a guy ( he's collapsed, so he didn't really count) arrived at the villa the Gremory clan possessed.

He entered, ignoring the looks he got from other ORC members and threw the guy to the sofa. Some took pity, but this sadistic queen let out a vile 'ufufu' and forced the poor guy to get her all new 'ice bucket challenge'.

Well, it's basically seeing someone endure getting washed by iced water. Fun? Of course it was, but not for the participant.

"…And here I thought I was sadistic" Hiiro muttered.

Kiba's eyes fluttered open as he shivered from the sudden contact with cold water.

" Ara, up already? I thought I could get a bit more fun."

She blasted him with a wave of warm air, which vaporized all water molecules from his clothes, preventing him from getting hypothermia. Both hitmen looked at each other, before sweat-dropping at Rias' queen antics.

Delicious smell came from the kitchen, and Tamamo frowned. She'd missed cooking, especially when they had to go on long trips. They always ate outside, and no chance for her to cook for him.

The book she bought told her one big secret.

'A way to a man's heart is through his stomach'

She rarely had chance to try, and she missed this. She walked to the chair and sat with a rather unladylike style. She crossed one leg under the table and used her arms as pillow. Then, she already started mumbling random things.

" Eat with them, Tama-chan. I'll be outside, no worries."

His words didn't grant him clarity at all. If anything, she was worried. That boy literally lost all of his childhood, and still had nothing to hold on. It was rare for his kind to get a happy life, but still, she wanted him to be an exception. But, how could he achieve that if he couldn't stop distrusting others but her?

All she wanted was for him to be happy, just like how she made her ever since his younger days.

 _A young boy, not older than 7, raced through the temple of Inari, was trying to get others to play with him. He was small, smaller than other kids of his age. He saw some boys playing soccer in distance, and approached them._

* * *

" _Hey, can I play with you?"_

 _They looked at each other, and nodded hesitantly. Then, one boy with a grin whispered something to them, and they all grinned, especially at the young Hiiro._

" _Okay, but be sure to play right."_

 _He was placed as a defender. At first, he enjoyed trying to stop a ball from the attackers, but suddenly, the ball hit his face hard, throwing him to the ground. The other kids held in their laugh and continued playing. Being so innocent, young Hiiro also laughed it off and went on playing. Eventually, they got tired of his tenacity and switched from balls to fists. They swarmed him, beating the youngster for fun._

 _His cheek was punched, and red liquid fell off his mouth to the ground. His droplets of blood touched the earth, and corroded it, making a hole with sizzling sound. The other kids looked at him in both fear and excitement. They'd seen acid on TV, and his blood was just, if more destructive than said chemical._

" _Hahaha~ Freak with acid blood! More!"_

 _He kicked him in the face._

" _Monster!"_

" _Freak!"_

" _Trash! Go spill more!"_

 _They finally left him there, bruises all over his body. His tears couldn't come out, mostly because he had experienced this often. Every time he returned to the orphanage, he'd also receive more beatings from his senile caretaker. People nearby called him 'The Plague', as he was blamed for causing trouble there, and the misfortune he carried with him._

 _He walked along the road, fairly reluctant to return now. At least, he'd let his injuries heal first. It usually wouldn't take longer than an hour for the wounds to disappear. Even his bullies were shocked to see him healing so fast. But, they were happy that no one could see their doings on him. Near a sakura tree, he saw a little house, no taller than his waist. It was almost like a doll house made of stone. He'd heard of a little shrine that had too little visitor, and was eventually moved from the main building._

" _You….must be lonely, huh? With no one to notice you, I'm sure you would, just like me. But…"_

 _He fished a coin from his pocket and threw it there. Then, he clasped his hands together and prayed to whatever goddess inhabiting that shrine._

" _May I have more happiness, tomorrow, and the days later."_

 _He smiled and left that shrine to wander a little more. The small nameplate on the tree was forgotten. What's written was : 'Tamamo no Mae'._

* * *

She still remembered that event deep in her heart. He always acted happy and confident, brimming with excitement, but it was no more than a mask. Not for others, but for himself. If he let himself had the littlest of doubt to himself, he'd break, like fallen dry leaves on autumn. Nonetheless, he still had the gall to worry about her.

" What an idiot…"

" Um, Tamamo…sama? Are you okay?"

A voice snapped her back to reality. She realized she had been looking at the food for 10 minutes now.

" Is the food not to your liking?"

Rias stood up. She'd cooked the meal herself, but she wasn't so sure if that would be enough to please the goddess.

" No, it's delicious. You have my thanks, Gremory."

She answered with her usual regal smile. She stood up, and went outside to meet her partner. He might be starving right now, but bringing food from inside while they're still there was bad manner.

She found him sitting on a large rock near the villa. When he's like this, he looked ruggedly handsome, the cool handsome. He looked so calm and in control, the incident at the club room felt nearly impossible to happen. His raven hair fluttered in the wind, giving him more 'wild' look.

" So you're here."

He turned to her and nodded.

" Done eating?"

She nodded.

" I see."

She sat beside him, and leaned to him. She didn't know why she did that, but it felt strangely good. At the very least, he was more flustered than her. He felt warm and comfortable, but not imposing like most men like him would. How could someone so warm be deviated from such cursed society? , she thought.

Then it came to her.

Only those who knew pain could understand kindness, and only those who experienced hatred could know love. Loving parents might be a pivotal part of a child's mental growth, but that was out of question for him.

Living in orphanage until 10.

Streets for 3 years.

And finally, he could buy a house with his own money after 4 years of careful saving.

Snotty brats who only knew to beg and brag would be dead if they experienced what he had.

She looked at him, her cerulean blue eyes meeting his light red eyes. They were so full of veiled pain, yet he still smiled, to live, and to survive. Maybe even finding the true ending the world had in store for him.

" Nee, Hiiro. Let's eat inside."

"…Fine."

* * *

 **Rate and Review. Favorite if you like it, thanks!**


	3. The Black Phoenix

**Actually, I'm skipping Rias' battle vs Riser. I think you've read their battle like, 100 times? Wkwk.**

 **Highschool DxD is not mine.**

* * *

The ten days handicap was finally over, and the day of her first Rating Game was finally upon her and her peerage. She was nervous, alright, but that nervousness was drowned by the will of becoming free. She had obtained a piece powerful enough to beat her unwanted fiancée, and her peerage had trained their hardest last week. She was as prepared as she could ever be.

" Buchou, here's the tea."

Akeno put down a tray with cups of tea in front of her. Like her master, she too was nervous, afraid even. But, if she were to show it, their underclassmen's morale would certainly sink. The same applied to Rias. Thus, they had to do their best at concealing their fear.

There was a guy that didn't seem nervous at all, though.

Hiiro Bloodreaver. That man who Rias somehow added to her peerage. Looking at his demeanor, it was clear that he was a seasoned veteran. Rather than nervous, he had a calculating look on his face, as if he were trying to bring down every chance of them losing. He wore a black jacket with skull patterns above a same colored t-shirt, plus a pair of jeans and a chain belt. Coupled with his raven hair, his appearance was nothing short of imposing. She couldn't even fathom the fact that this man was significantly younger than her.

" 15 minutes to go…Are you all prepared?"

Issei, Koneko, and Kiba stood up and rechecked their preparations. Koneko fastened the wraps of her boxer gloves, Kiba sheathed his newly acquired sword on his side. Rias and Akeno just smiled at their enthusiasm. Suddenly, a magic circle glowed on the floor, and they all transported through it.

The teleportation worked, and they now stood inside a replica of Kuoh Academy created inside a fake dimension. This way, the damage wouldn't extend to the real world. On the sky, Grayfia, along with several higher-ups of devil society in form of holograms appeared.

" Riser Phenex had filed a protest about your new pawn, Rias-hime. You haven't reported him to the headquarters, thus he is deemed illegal to enter Rating Games. As the law states, new recruits must immediately be reported, and you've neglected that."

Hiiro looked at the sky in disgust. Those stinky old critters were crafty as hell. He never heard of a law like that in his whole life. Then again, he wasn't a devil, so relaying protests didn't hold any merit for him.

" Would you mind showing me the proof of that law?"

Those old geezers sweated a bit, then grinned. They showed a rough copy of a paper with that thing they called law.

" Seriously?"

Rias fell to the floor. With her main cannon gone, her plans had gone awry. She too never heard about such laws from any book she'd read. But, the elders' words and writings were absolute, not even a Maou could deny them. They were the most ancient devils surviving the war by cowering and licking feet, and rose to power as soon as the war ended with their so-called wisdom and experience. Beside her, Hiiro's image flickered and disappeared. Hiiro was actually removed from the game by those people.

" RIAS!"

She looked up and saw Hiiro's face on the sky.

" Go with the plan. You can still win!"

She seemed unsure for an instant, then her eyes lit up. Giving up would get nothing for her, thus her only choice was to fight to the best of her abilities. The moment you accept this ridiculous thing called fate, it would control you to no ends.

She was Rias Gremory, and she must control her own fate with her hands.

" Hiiro was taken away, but that doesn't mean we can't win! Let's show them Hiiro's not the only powerful member of my family! Let's teach that arrogant prick Riser not to mess with us!"

" YEAAH!"

Her speech boosted her peerage's morale quite effectively, and they charged to battle.

Hiiro could only watch Rias's peerage fell under Riser's regenerative traits. Their firepower wasn't good enough to overwhelm him, thus giving him enough time to let fatigue consume them and pick them one by one.

" Hiiro…"

Tamamo called him, but she got no response. Instead, she felt a drop of liquid on her skin.

" Oh, this is not good. Every time he gets serious, no one can leave unscathed."

The next day…

He was allowed to enter the banquet the Phenex and Gremory family threw in to celebrate Rias' and Riser's forced marriage. Was that the elders' way to compensate by giving him one last chance to see her, or was that just a way to mock him?

He believed it was the latter.

However, he decided to take a stroll and formulate a plan to fulfill his client's hope. A chance would present itself eventually, he was sure of it. He loitered around while eating to conserve his stamina, but mostly because the food there was basically irresistible. Maybe royal devil cooks actually liked human cuisine, and decided to copy them, albeit with a little improvement.

As he wolfed down his fifth plate of food, he saw Riser Phenex walked up to the podium. He adjusted the microphone and spoke.

" Everyone! I, Riser Phenex, thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming to see this grand occasion. Right now, two great families will join, with me and my bride as the ambassador. Now, let me show you my bride."

Bright flames erupted from the podium, revealing Rias Gremory. She wore a low-cut white dress that revealed parts of her cleavage, and left her back open. It was more like showing the trophy he had gotten than revealing her as a bride.

" And so, I would like to ask for your—"

" I REFUSE!"

" SCREW YOU!"

Two voices bellowed at the same time. One was from Hiiro, while another was from a boy about Rias' age. They looked at each other and shouted.

" DON'T COPY ME!"

Hiiro sighed as he massaged his head. This loud kid was grating on his nerves. How could someone scream right in front of him, anyway? He ignored him and faced Riser.

" Riser, were you so afraid of me that you sent me out of the game?"

The man grinned at him.

" Not really. Riser was just making sure his bride abide the law."

" Yeah? Then, how's this?"

He revealed an mp3 player and switched it on.

" _He must be prevented from entering the game, father! I can't beat him!"_

" _Ara, what's this?"_

" _Ooh, elders, can you help me pave the way to this marriage?"_

" _It's easy, child. Fear not, this is important for us, too. Especially with this contract we have."_

Hiiro ended the recording and smiled at all the spectators. They were all flabbergasted at the sudden revelation.

" Well, I didn't think the honorable Phenex family would do something like that, so I am a little doubtful, but facts speak, you know?"

The elders looked at each other worriedly. This boy might have found out that they received an exorbitant amount of money from Phenex family to make sure Hiiro couldn't interfere if he had watched them to the end.

" So, how's that? I just want to fight for her, actually, but if you're using…peculiar ways, I'll gladly use some too."

Riser gritted his teeth in both anger and hesitation. After being persuaded by the elders, he faced both of them.

" Fine, I'll take both of you plebs! But, to not humiliate you too much, I'll bring my brother Ruval Phenex in too."

He turned to a man younger than him, with aura surpassing Riser himself. He wasn't the poser of bad boy like Riser, so his manners were far better than him. His hair was a bit disheveled, but otherwise, he seemed less of a prick than his brother.

" Riser, I don't really want to fight these days…"

He looked far less motivated than her brother in fighting these two, but he knew for a fact that his brother was a loser that relied on his regeneration alone. Take it from him, and he'd be no more than a little child throwing a tantrum.

Knowing that, he _had_ to help his brother, didn't he?

So, he walked forward and faced both youngsters opposing his brothers. The one with black jacket seemed experienced, but he wasn't of noble blood. On the other hand, the devil boy came from a distinguished royal family, the clan of Halphas, which was said to have the power to demonize parts of his body. However, he had little to no experience in terms of battle.

" What's going on here?"

A man in a regal devil cloak entered the fray. He was almost like the male version of Rias Gremory, with face prettier than girls. However, the aura of strength around him wiped all the thoughts of him being weak. He shot a quick glance at Hiiro and smiled.

" Oh, you're the new addition to Rias' peerage, aren't you? You've got guts. So, in return for winning this _impossible_ battle, what do you want?"

He emphasized the impossible to press on two sides. The elders and Hiiro.

" To be honest, I want money, house, and many other things, but I'll skip on that. How about Rias Gremory's freedom?"

" Wait, Lucifer-sama! There's no need to give this poor trash anything!"

" Oi, old bastards…"

He growled, getting full attention of everyone inside.

" Don't try playing God while I'm around, or you'll regret it."

They sweat dropped because of his threatening tone. They might be survivors, but frankly, they had to rely on youngsters to protect them.

" H-Ha! Is that a threat to us, damn kid?"

He didn't even spare any effort to contain his killing intent. His eyes constricted to slits, and his face adopted a maniacal grin.

" It's a promise."

As they were intimidated by his aura, the one beside him tugged his elbow.

" Hey, I'll help you."

" And tell me why I should even let you."

" I'm Rias' childhood friend. I just don't want to let her get married off like that."

He glanced at the self-proclaimed childhood friend of his client. Brown hair and built body, plus his magic power weren't bad at all. Maybe he could even the odds.

" Don't get in my way, what-cha-malit guy."

" It's Roy Halphas, suspicious scary guy."

They both entered the magic circle personally provided by Sirzechs and disappeared from the room. All four contestants were teleported to a pocket dimension which looked like a massive chess board, pieces and all.

Like how artificial dimensions should be, the sky was painted. This time, it was colored by Gremory's symbolic color, red. Roy cracked his knuckles and grinned. His right hand suddenly grew hard scales with patterns like tortoise's back. It also changed color to sickly green and emitted some kind of smoke to the air.

" _I've heard of Halphas clan's unique magic. They could demonize parts of their body to increase strength and their overall stats. Still, seeing it up close is kinda creepy."_

If its size stayed, he wouldn't look too scary. But, the arm started to expand rapidly, to the point it was as big as a dragon's claw.

" Quit staring and start fighting!"

Roy swiped his hand across and slapped Riser dead in the face. The force was so great that not only his face, but also the upper half of his body was gone as well. On the other hand, Ruval hovered above them, effectively avoiding that surprise attack. Hiiro stared at Riser's regenerating body with amusement in his eyes.

" My idiot brother relies completely on his regenerative traits. But, I'd prefer not getting hurt anytime, even if I'm a Phenex."

Ruval sighed at his brother's recklessness and cast a glance at the remaining fighter.

" Yo."

Hiiro had already pulled out two UZIs out of nowhere and emptied an entire magazine on him. The Phenex let all the bullets pierce his body, relying on his regenerative traits to heal his wounds. He dived straight for him and encased his right hand in orange flames. Seeing the enemy's commando attack, he fell back and smacked his head with his guns.

However, he didn't fall down.

Ruval skillfully planted his foot on the floor and uppercut him. Once he was in mid-air, Ruval quickly created a geyser of fire that would roast anyone beside him. To avoid getting caught in that, Hiiro sacrificed a little amount of his blood to make a shield. He soared up due to the force involved and dropped to the ground.

" Looks like you ARE stronger than your brother."

" Hmph."

Unlike his brother, Ruval was quite a level-headed person. He already analyzed Hiiro's fighting style, which involved a lot of guns and bullets. However, this guy seemed to be inept in close combat. He had to use it to his advantage.

And take it he did.

Ruval closed in to Hiiro, making him unable to shoot him down with his UZI, and aimed for a lariat with flames. Before he could reach him, Hiiro's heel was suddenly on his forehead, a fatal axe kick.

" What?!"

He could only mutter that one word as he crashed to the ground, leaving a crater on it. Hiiro jumped back, wary of his counter. As he expected, Ruval sent out a pillar of flame from his body. Hiiro discarded his UZIs, useless after the barrels were damaged by the pillar of flame earlier. He dashed forward, starting to beat up the Phenex with his bare hands. He wasn't able to follow him, because of pure shock he experienced before.

Meanwhile, Riser was barely holding his own against Roy. Apparently, he could enhance his whole body by changing all parts of his body. Now, Riser was basically fighting a humanoid dragon with insane physical prowess. Roy's whole body was covered in thick grey scales that even Riser's full power could barely crack it.

Roy threw a full-powered punch at him and blew up a hole on Riser's torso. Then, he balled his other fist and slammed it to his jaw, sending him flying and wrecking his face.

" One thing I like about Phenex is they can be a practical punching bag. Human-sized, easy to use, and able to repair itself."

He kept on punching Riser until his regeneration started failing him. His broken nose healed slower, and his stomach still hurt even after fully healed. There were bruises that took longer to heal, and his stamina was fading fast. Roy had dealt so much damage that a Phenex's regeneration traits were eventually overwhelmed.

" Kuh…How could a mere Marquis like you can defeat a Great Marquis like me?!"

He was silenced by a kick to his neck, severing it.

" Maybe because you're _weak_."

He spat at the headless Riser who was already healing his neck. At least his regeneration still allowed him to live out as a punching bag. His flames were already proved ineffective, so he was left without any means to fight.

" Riser! Use this!"

Ruval shouted and threw a vial to his brother. Roy could've caught it and crushed every hope Riser had left, but it wouldn't be fun, would it? If that vial could give more fun to this fight, he might as well give it to him.

" Thanks, brother! With this, we can finally turn the tide of this battle!"

He revealed the content and stabbed the syringe into his neck. His veins pulsed and his nerves became visible. Then, his flames darkened. It first became red, then crimson, and finally reached black. He let out a horrifying screech and gripped his head hard.

" Oh, man…"

Hiiro was in a bit of pinch as well. He didn't know that Ruval was actually a rare breed, a black phoenix. His normal powers were just a weak extension of the strength he'd been hiding. But, such power was considered a taboo by the Phenex clan, thus he had to hide it until now. Power wasn't something that the devils hated, but powers that exceeded their own were possible to be feared, and by extension, ostracized.

He clicked his tongue and resorted to magic. Lightning sparked near his body, dancing in light blue arcs, easily carrying thousands of volts each. He thought of trying him first, so he shot a simple thunder at him. To his surprise, he dodged it and dashed forward, using the fire as propeller.

Hiiro immediately put up his blut vene, a way to protect oneself by hardening all blood vessels with energy. Blood was already rich of energy by itself, it was a kind of colloid form, and it could harden and soften easily. It was alive. How could flame annihilate such thing?

So, he completely withstood the blast, unharmed. But the area around him did not.

" Wow. I can't believe you survived that blast."

Hiiro grinned from behind his crossed arms and spoke.

" Believe it."

He spread his arms and delivered a deadly strike to Ruval's neck. He struck the sides of his neck with his fists, nearly breaking his neck in process. Unfortunately, a black phoenix's regenerative traits were heavily losing compared to a normal phoenix because they sacrificed it all for sheer power. It took a heavy brunt when Hiiro dealt that blow, and he couldn't fully recover from that yet.

He staggered, holding his neck like his life depended on how firm his grip was. Wasting no chance, Hiiro kneed him in the face and slammed his fist with power enough to blast a container truck away to Ruval's face.

But this time, he coated his whole body in black fire.

So, when he retracted his fist, it was already blazing.

" Heheh…If I can't touch you, you can hit me all you want. But, you know the con-"

He was silenced with a nasty uppercut straight to the jaw. The flames burned his skin profusely, and started leaving scorch marks on his skin. Even his unnaturally thick skin was burnt in seconds, while not even steel swords was able to pierce it

But, he slammed his fist together, and the flame was dispersed. The scars remained, but nothing his fast healing couldn't fix. Ruval widened his eyes at him and left his jaw open, although his jaw was still hurting like hell.

" So, what? Holy flames won't burn angels, the same goes to unholy flames. It's strong but not…effective enough."

" …No, holy flames burn angels, too. It's like normal flame for them."

Ruval's statement made his eyes turn wider.

" Really?"

" Actually, yes. I read it once in a book."

…

" Man, don't believe everything the book says. You've got to experience it yourself to be sure, you know?"

Hiiro sighed and cracked his neck several times.

" And how can you? War and skirmishes between factions are highly prohibited. If a devil clashed with them, they'd be labeled as stray devil immediately."

" True…I've got a lot of chances to try. From my childhood, there's always someone from the church on my tail. I've fought several angels for my life, and have lost them so many times until now. I killed one by locking him inside a fireplace when I was a kid, dropping a few wooden logs to make the fire hot enough to kill him."

The Phenex stared at him in agape.

" I don't really know nor care how and why you got caught up in that. But, it is interesting. Why'd angels hunt a child?"

" Hypothetically speaking, devils should be the most unholy being in three factions, considering the first devil was an archangel cast out from Heaven, right?"

" Yes."

They continued their brawl while talking.

" So, what happened to the balance of holy and darkness _before_ the devils exist?"

Ruval thought a bit too deeply and got Hiiro's feet planted on the back of his neck. He quickly grabbed his leg and tried throwing him to the wall. However, before he could swing his arm, he already back-flipped and kicked his chin.

"What do you think of that theory? Interesting, isn't it?"

His feet touched the ground without making any sound, just like a skilled assassin. Ruval rubbed his bruised chin and sighed. This guy was good, making him talk to disrupt his concentration from battle.

" It got me a kick, though."

" Your fault for being distracted so easily."

He couldn't deny that.

Meanwhile…

" This is bad, this is bad, this is bad…."

Tamamo who was watching from the tribune bit her fingers worriedly. She wasn't that worried about Hiiro, it's more like she worried about the reason he always used guns to smack or shoot his opponents and rarely used his own fists and legs.

It wasn't because he couldn't do powerful attacks.

His personal uncontrolled attacks were just too powerful.

" At this rate, it's just a matter of time before he accidentally loses control and levels the whole field…come on, Hiiro, finish it fast, will you?"

Riser Phenex was fighting toe on toe with Roy, despite getting used to wipe the floor with before. With his temporary black flames, he could injure him even with his scales on. In return, his regenerative powers were greatly reduced to the point he couldn't take blows carelessly like before.

" Kuh! Bas—'

The Halphas devil's weighted fist connected with Riser's gut, making him vomit blood. But, like his brother, he had covered himself in black fire, hurting his attacker more than the damage he took. Man, he was lucky he had scales for skin. Thanks to that, his hand would remain intact despite being charred black.

Seriously, getting a sudden power-up seemed too unfair for him.

As a member of a former extra devil clan, he had to claw his way up. His magic talents were horrible, and his family was often called cheater. He often found himself sneering at that stupid fact. The Halphas family only had demonization as ability. They had the power to go 'berserk' and strengthen their body parts beyond that of legendary beasts. How could his little quirk be called cheating when most 72 pillars had more mind-blowing magic?

He channeled some power to his feet, changing its very muscle structure to that of a beast. One leap was all it took to close the distance and drop kick poor Riser to the ground. He literally buried him six-feet below ground.

Riser couldn't even hope to finish his cussing.

Well of course, considering Roy was beating the hell out of him in frenzied state. He ignored his burning hands and focused on how to make Riser's face look like mincemeat as fast as possible. If his fists were tired, he switched to legs, and so on.

" YOU—"

His face was stepped on harshly and his voice gone under the sole of his shoes. Roy might not be a sadist, but he felt good having a self proclaimed noble under his foot. Those smug nobles really needed a lesson on humility once in a while.

Suddenly, a man-sized lump was thrown at his direction, so he reluctantly lifted his foot off Riser's head and dodged. Lucky for him, but unfortunate for the poor Riser, the lump landed right on him.

" Nice shot!"

He gave double thumbs up for anyone who just threw so accurately at something he stepped on earlier. One look, and he could tell that his compatriot was the one throwing. The projectile was Ruval Phenex, bloody beaten. His flames were forcefully extinguished. It looked like Hiiro electrocuted him so badly that he couldn't even channel his power without getting major muscle spasms.

" Wow…You're going too far, even with my standards…."

Hiiro walked into the fray, his whole body crackling with sparks. If there were anyone who could pull off being scary without even trying, it'd be him. Right now, he had the presence of a literal demon oozing from him. He extended his hand and grabbed Ruval's necktie, forcing him to look up.

" You've got some guts, I'll give you that. I can't believe someone actually looked me up from deep internet. "

" Heheh…You've done your research, and so have I. It's basic war strategy, right?"

Despite having blood in his mouth, this Phenex was still able to pull off a malicious grin. Seeing this, Hiiro cracked. He released an evil cackle that sent shivers to everyone hearing it, and pulled Ruval's collar even closer.

" Do it and I'll hang you on your ass, Marquis or not."

His imminent threat was totally scary, and honestly, Ruval nearly wet his pants. But, he put on a brave front. Can't have his brother see him leak under pressure, right?

It was kinda hard to stand after getting all his nerves paralyzed. He tried to move his toes, yet hips moved. He tried to move his fingers, his ankle twitched.

Nope, no way.

Did he get electrocuted so badly to the point his nerve system short-circuited? Just how much magic power someone needed to overload a Phenex's nerves?

This male here was no pushover, he thought.

" Stand up, Ruval Phenex."

" I…"

" Brother, don't!"

"…forfeit."

* * *

The match had ended as an anticlimax. Hiiro zapped the older Phenex until he got numb, and Riser was pulverized to near death. Silence crept up, and finally, the referee snapped out of her trance and announced.

" Phenex team has forfeited! Victory goes to Roy and Hiiro pair!"

The winners high-fived, although it was more like Roy forcing Hiiro to meet his hand. What choice did he have? If he didn't raise his palm, the head was gonna get it. Roy, on the other hand, was peachy as hell, and what a coincidence, they were literally in hell.

They were transported back to the wedding hall with the angry elders shooting dirty looks the moment they stepped into the room. But, there was someone who looked pretty happy. The older male version of Rias had a satisfied smile on his face.

" Will you be so kind to escort Rias back home?"

Hiiro sighed and looked at his partner-in-crime, Roy Halphas. He nodded and took a griffin with her to return to ORC room. He raised his arm just in time to stop one of the elders' magic bullet. For his amusement, that didn't even itch. The ones who tried to play God on him had less magic power than a Low-class devil.

Funny? Very much so.

Still, they looked proud with the smokescreen they just provided. From behind the smoke, Hiiro could see those old farts hug each other, perhaps thinking 'Wow, we killed the guy not even Phenex devil could. Nice, we are strong, we deserve cookies!'

Talk about idiocy. And these guys were the elders? The Underworld's future looked kinda bleak to him.

" Child play."

He sighed from beyond the smoke, looking at the shocked elders. They probably thought, 'How can this boy withstand my high pretty cutie beam?' Or something like that. Considering the sissy ass magic in that bullet before, maybe that was true. They did use something from magical girl as an attack.

Then, he silently gripped his fist to take control of one old of those elders' blood vessels. The blood inside his throat stopped, effectively choking him. The guards raised their spears and tried to spear him. Hiiro released his choke and calmly stepped on the marble floor. The waves created from that was enhanced drastically, creating a large crack on the ground and downing all those soldiers instantly.

As more started to surround him, he raised his arms and looked at the male version of Rias.

" Self-defense."

Sirzechs Lucifer sighed at his sister's antics and rubbed his temples. True, no one could prove he was actually choking the elder, so his action against the soldiers was pure self-defense. No one could charge him for that.

" CHILD! YOU—"

Suddenly, a wave of pure magic reverberated in the room. It was like Hiiro had emitted so much pressure that the air went away from him. All who had low magic power paled and fell to the ground unconscious, including the elders.

" What? Like I said, self-defense. They could've murdered me, you know?"

It sounded funny, coming from a person who defeated Ruval Phenex, one of the Ultimate-class devils. But, he was smart. He didn't attack them head-on, nor did he leave any magic trace of the attack before. It looked like they fell to sleep on their own.

He waved at the ORC and went to the door.

" TAMA-CHAAN~"

He called, getting a smack from his girlfriend who just teleported to the room. She was just getting her belongings when she heard him shout.

" Now, you're getting an earful on how to control your power, kelp-brain. I can't believe you fried his nerves. Killing a noble would give us a bad name, you know!"

" I know, I know! Geez, tone down the smack, will you? It hurts!"

" Seriously?"

" It hurts my heart. Not my body."

Sighing at his antics, she grabbed his arm and teleported away from there. All devils present could only shook their head and ask themselves.

" What just happened?"

* * *

He returned to his home with Tamamo, but not before visiting the academy. They found Rias and Roy cuddling together. The woman took a pillow, and the male threw it with incredible force with his demonized arms. The impact sent him flying out of the room.

" Okay, not funny guys…"

He threw the pillow back in while rubbing his back. The walls were really kind to catch him the instant he got thrown away. It's a shame they were made of stones instead of sponge.

Some messed up logic, isn't it?

He entered the room again with bright red light covering him. His hands reached inside his chest (don't ask how. It's magic) and pulled out 8 pieces of pawn pieces from there. He handed them all to Rias and smiled.

" Our contract is done. Nice working with you, princess."

She scooped all her pieces, safe and sound. She was prepared to lose all of them after Riser was defeated, but he returned them to her. She found it a bit hard to believe that he was a cold-blooded assassin.

" Enjoy your time."

He and Tamamo left, but not before he closed the door behind them. Roy could hear their distant footsteps and sighed.

" Quite interesting mercenaries you've got there."

" Yeah. Although interesting doesn't really cut it, don't you think?"

Roy assumed his thinking position, one hand below his chin, wrinkled eyebrows, and visibly smoking ears. He was more of a brawn type of a guy, but that also meant he was very loyal to his friends.

" I can't believe what he'd done. I smelled ozone in the air, loud zaps, and screams, and suddenly Ruval got sent flying to bird guy, already incapacitated. Then, I looked back and saw a demon walking to me, until my brains could register it as Hiiro."

" Uh-huh. I doubt those two are going out of hospital soon."

Roy smiled at his childhood friend.

" Which means more time for us to spend together. So, wanna keep the nostalgia going and watch some movies? Unless you're not okay with it, I suppose."

She giggled.

" Of course I'm okay, silly. Now, you get those movies, I'm getting the pillows."

* * *

Tamamo and Hiiro had already arrived home, courtesy of her teleport spell. He casually stripped and entered the bedroom. The fox goddess sighed and collected his clothes and threw them to the laundry. He'd been absent-minded every time he entered Underworld. The fact that most of his species were locked there somewhere didn't help much.

" He always does this whenever he's mad. I wish he'd cry to me sometimes."

Perhaps the time he spent together with Rias and her peerage gave him a light nausea. If he were not okay, he'd throw in some dry jokes intended to mask his emotions. You just had to laugh even if your joke was dry, right? The childhood he lost, the friends he could've gotten, and a life he could've enjoyed, were all gone just because the church decided to hunt him. They could repel any attackers just fine, but wiping the memories afterwards was a hard thing. If they left a shred of information about them, they'd live their lives with big questions on their mind.

The world was anything but kind to him, yet he persevered. She just hoped he'd be able to point his middle finger at whoever messing up with his life and said: "Screw you, f***er!". That would be nice.

He came out of the bathroom with towel wrapped around his waist and wet hair. His toned abs gave her a slight shiver. He was barely 17, yet he was muscular enough to shame international athletes. She patted the spot beside her.

" Sit here."

He obliged and seated himself after wearing his clothes. She giggled when he gestured at her, telling her to either turn or get out. Then, she grabbed his head and gently pulled him to her soft lap.

" Tama—"

" Shhh…You need rest, so close your mouth and sleep."

He yawned and closed his eyes, lightly snoring in peace. She leaned down and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

" Sweet dreams, my love."

She caressed his black hair as she watched him sleep peacefully

* * *

 **Aand it's done! It's late, I know, but in my defense, I got midterms to worry about. I focused everything there, so I guess I neglected writing a bit. Anyway, thanks for reading, as always, and please leave some review. Ciao!**


	4. Enter The Crusader

**I went to this story right after finishing a chappy for my other story, so I hope you'll find it in your hearts to forgive me. The storm had subsided…for now. Then again, I might have to go on a sudden hiatus for a while, but I'll try to update regularly.**

 **Highschool DxD is not mine, obviously.**

* * *

Hiiro Bloodreaver, a net trader and a freelance mercenary, was lying around on his bedroom floor, trying to figure out the best way to get out of his blanket. Tamamo had decided to be evil and tied him up with his best blanket! Now, who'd have the heart to rip apart your favorite blanket? The thought of ripping something that accompanied you every night sounded totally wrong.

" Ara, someone who owned the Phenex devils and sent them to hospital straight away can't even break free from this?"

Tamamo came in, covering her giggling mouth with the sleeve of her kimono. He snorted, then slowly contracted and relaxed his muscles a few time. Once he got more space to move, he lunged forward, straight to her. He tackled her to the ground and started tickling the hell out of her.

" Now who's gonna laugh now?! AHAHAH!"

His supposedly evil laugh was drowned by Tamamo's giggles. She finally fell to his arms, out of breath.

" Hiiro…"

" Yes?"

" We're late for school…"

He shrugged.

" I don't care."

She sighed and fixed her own clothes, then magically dressed both of them in school uniforms. He sighed and went to the sink. He quickly brushed his teeth and plopped his books to a backpack.

His girlfriend, of course, had prepared everything last night.

" Come on! I'll pop us to some abandoned alley near the school!"

" How come only the Gods get cool powers like teleportation and stuff? I also want this—"

The teleportation shut him up effectively. After they appeared on a street far from crowds, he started to double over.

" Denied that. I get sick of teleportation."

She smacked him in the back and dragged him out. They ran to the school hurriedly, barely making it to the gate.

" You're late."

A petite girl with bob-cut hair and glasses glared at us from behind her table. He could sense her devil powers, so he smirked.

" Oh, I'm sorry. We were cleaning up a douche last night, so we're a little sleep deprived, Kaichou."

She pressed her temples and was seriously tempted to slam her head to the table.

" I know…What's happening with this school, anyway? I was surprised to even have two mercenaries here."

" Says the sister of a maou…"

" THAT is, unfortunately, true. Just…fill this form and get to class, you two."

She fell down to her chair while sighing. It must be really tiring to oversee the school's programs and situations. Hiiro picked a pen and just signed the 'I'm late' form she got out, followed with Tamamo.

" Nice to meet you, kaichou."

They closed the door behind them.

* * *

Hiiro's POV.

We entered the class, getting gossiped from the first step inside. Boys were in awe at Tamamo's beauty, while girls were somehow gawking with beet red faces. Maybe they had fever or something?

" Chigusa-kun, Mae-kun, please introduce yourselves."

Chigusa? Well, makes sense since I have 'blood' in my name. As a gentleman, I stepped forward before Tamamo and took a deep breath.

" Hey, what's up? My name is Hiiro Chigusa. I'm turning 16 this year. I like eating, sleeping, and lazing around. Oh, I can play guitar and program a bit."

I did well, perhaps? Anyway, it's Tamamo's turn.

" Everyone, nice to meet you. I am Tama Mae. I guess that name is a bit unusual, but deal with it. By the way, this guy is my boyfriend, so I'll appreciate it if you can stop ogling him like he's a treat."

That statement shocked the hell out of me and all students present, guys and girls. The guys were like, 'curse you, ikemen bastard!' while the girls were like 'EEEHH~ He's taken~'. Weird, maybe my ears had a few screws loose.

" Well, do you have any questions for them?" The teacher chided in.

After a while, one bald student in the back raised his hand.

" Yes, Matsuda?"

This guy had a built body, and most likely a good runner. He looked like a bald shaolin monks from movies.

" Why are you here?"

" Huh? Oh, I was learning by myself up until high school, and I thought that I'd need a regular highschoolers experience. Wouldn't want youth to go to waste, right?"

MAJOR LIE ALERT! I was dragged here by Tamamo with that exact same reason. As if a hitman needed high school experience.

Wait, that bald guy made a very weird expression on his face. Why was he pointing at me? He balled his fist with tears streaming down his face.

" DAMN YOU! Damn you and your ikemen face! You should share pretty girls with us, you bastard!"

I was sure calling someone bastard meant you hated him. But, why in the world someone I just met called me that? Meh, I didn't care anyway.

" You don't have a girlfriend, do you?"

He gritted his teeth and stood up, followed by a boy in glasses. They both looked at me as if I murdered their parents.

" You won't ever get one if you still think they fall for every good-looking males in sight. Love is more than just pretty face, uh, who are you again?"

" I'm Matsuda! Geez, newcomer."

" Alright. Any more questions? Anybody?"

The girls were still contemplating, but time was limited, so the teacher asked both me and Tamamo to sit. I plopped myself to the seat behind a braided brown haired girl with glasses. I knew it's rude to judge people on firs sight, but her eyes creeped me out. For some reason I did NOT want to know, she kept staring at my crotch.

Fortunately, the bell rang before I lost my bearing, allowing me to get out.

I finally got to have a little break. Tamamo's seat was instantly flooded by boys and girls alike. Well, she was a goddess, so I wasn't that surprised. Also, her otherworldly beauty added more to the mix. Bad mix.

We got out to taste the canteen's food. She nudged my ribs and whispered.

" If they suck, I'm gonna teach 'em how to cook. How does that sound?"

That pretty much convinced me to go with her. But, as I said, her beauty attracted unwanted flies around us. But, few dared to come, since I was beside her AND her bold declaration earlier. Thanks to that, my number of stalkers dwindled.

This is one of those idiots.

A big-sized guy strolled forward, and stopped just beside our table. His uniform was one size short, giving view of his toned abs and muscles. I could see they were just shaped, not strengthened. Just for the sake of plain appearance, nothing more. He leaned to her, ignoring my glare.

" Hey, sweetie. Why don't you ditch this dumb guy …"

He pointed at me.

"…And go out with this stud?"

She raised one eyebrow and smirked.

" Alright."

My heart sank as she stood up. She pointed at the burly guy.

" Ditch the dumb guy…"

She linked her arm with mine and sat beside me.

" …And go out with THE cool guy."

The whole population inside cafeteria's laugh erupted. Even the food lady also held her sides due to laughing too much. That self-proclaimed hunk's face turned red like tomato and he gritted his teeth. He threw his hand to her collar, but my aching fist smacked down his.

" Keep your filthy hands off her, gorilla."

I sent him one of my best glare-scowl combo, successfully getting a surprised gasp from him. I swore I saw a wet spot on his pants. Geez, just a glare and he pissed himself. What a wimp.

Tamamo sent me an approving look. But, the guy was stupidly hard-headed. He tried to punch by swinging his whole weight in. I casually caught his wrist and he kneeled down due to my grip. I crushed his wrist and kneed his face in. Not hard enough to kill, but surely enough to leave a mark.

Oops.

Maybe I went a little too far.

His nose was bleeding, his wrist had a cracked bone or two, and he couldn't get up without showing everyone the stain on his pants. But, it was his fault. He tried to get Tamamo even though I was overprotective about her.

" You got too far, Hiiro."

" Wipe that smirk off your face, then talk. You like it, too."

" Can't really deny that."

Shortly later, the devil I met earlier came running with her aide. Their eyes zoomed the whole cafeteria. They looked at us, and face-palmed.

" So-Sona kaichou…"

Even the big guy was afraid of her. Did the STC president really have such enormous power at school? She was just a petite girl with choppy haircut and glasses, but she was a devil, a high-class one nonetheless. She could've done something cool like hypnotizing the whole school into thinking that the STC's powers were absolute.

She pointed at me, Tamamo, and the bully.

" STC room…now."

Then, she left without saying anything.

Naturally, we came late.

What did you expect? We were sophomores, while that guy was a senior. Questionable, considering his actions earlier. So, Tamamo and I entered the room, and wow, it was damn fancy for a school. Victorian style, with huge desk on the back of room.

" Sit down, Hiiro-kun, Tama-san."

Naturally, I wouldn't take order from anyone, but since she didn't use commanding tone, I sat down. She also sat down across us.

" Are you gonna dish out detention for us?"

She glared at me and I replied with a testing look. She scoffed and took out a paper from her map. She gave it to us, and told us to sign it. I lifted the paper, shook it around, and even tried to look through it.

" What are you doing?"

" You know, this kind of paper is usually rigged with something to blackmail others. Like, oath of submission or something. It's something devils do, right?"

She had this kind of hurt look on her face. Seeing that, Tamamo slapped me hard. Mind you, her slap stung a lot.

" Sorry. But, you can't expect us to trust you right off the bat, can you?"

She nodded and sighed.

" It's just a form I give to teachers. You can read it if you want. It's to report things happening in school, nothing more."

I read all its content and searched for any hostile words. The words that could be misinterpreted, Words that could become a thorn on my side. I found none, so I put it back and signed it. Tamamo took the pen and signed it as well.

As we walked to the door, she yelled 'wait!'.

I was in battle-ready mode. Maybe there was a carefully hidden contract underneath, and she was going to exercise the magic inside. Before she could, I was more than happy to rip that off along with her hands.

" What do you want, Sona Sitri?"

She gulped under my glare, and opened her mouth, but was intercepted. A teenage male with dirty blonde hair entered, and shielded her from me. In his hand, there was a glove with cute lizard on top of it.

 **{ Vritra, is that you? Come out.}**

A deep voice boomed from my left arm. A hexagon shaped light appeared on my back of hand. I rolled his eyeballs and tried to muffle the voice by covering his hand. But, a gauntlet materialized on my left arm, covering it whole until my elbow. Three spikes jutted out, one from the top, two from sides. It was colored dark purple, with green hexagon jewel on top.

" I told you to shut up until I allow you to, iron-head. Now all's gonna find out."

Sona Sitri had this priceless look on her face, leaving her mouth open a bit. I smashed the gauntlet against the floor, placing a spider crack on the stone.

 **{What was that for? I'm just greeting my son here!}**

" Yeah, right."

The Sitri devil fixed her glasses and ogled at my gauntlet. Actually, the blonde devil from before also eyed my gear hungrily.

" What is that?"

I gave up and showed her the gauntlet.

" Not telling. All I can say is you should back off as quickly as you can."

" Why?"

As soon as she said that, she felt eyes watching her. Her brain played some of her wildest imaginations, all consisting the most gruesome death and suffering she ever thought of. Decapitation, skinning, torture, blood, and many other cruel things were displayed right in front of her eyes.

She fell down, breaking to tears. Her knees were too weak to support her body, so the blonde boy grabbed her and helped her sit down. Then, he angrily pointed his cute lizard on me.

" YOU! What did you do to kaichou?"

I shrugged, and let the beast inside answer.

 **{I am Alduin, the Abyss Demon Dragon of Purgatory. I am literally from the purgatory, sealed inside this brat here as a last gift from his kind.}**

" His nickname is 'Nightmare Bringer'. He can literally shove someone's reality to imagination and back. The effect is, well, you've seen her."

Sona was shaking on her seat, still trying to drag herself out from that dreadful nightmare. I walked to her and patted her back, then reluctantly pulled out a knife from my jacket.

" I'm sorry, Sona Sitri. I can't have anyone knowing my secret live and run their mouths around without my consent."

I sighed, unwilling to take her life. But, it was what must be done. I raised my knife high and aimed for her spinal cord, aiming for an instant kill to minimize her pain. As I brought down my knife, the boy had somehow stopped my hand with an energy rope from his glove.

" Vritra's host…lay off."

He persevered, and I felt my strength being sapped from my body. I hastily cut off that rope and nearly threw my knife at him. However, Tamamo grabbed my wrist and pulled it down.

" Calm down, Hiiro! You can't kill someone like that!"

I reluctantly threw away my knife.

" Tamamo, last time someone saw my gear, I was hunted by a whole faction! I can't have the devils after my head, too!"

" I know! I don't want you to kill neither! But…"

She turned to Sona, who was rubbing her neck.

" Please, for your own good. Vow to never tell anyone about this. For all of us."

She was looking at Sona with mixture of guilt and worry. I knew she hated me killing others, because with every kills, one's heart may become colder and more unfeeling.

Not like it mattered much to me, though.

If I were to get her in danger, I'd never be able to forgive myself. Killing her wasn't on my favorite list, but her speculation skills and knowledge was dangerous.

" What did you see?"

I convinced myself once again that she possessed no harm to me and anyone close to me. If she saw a little too much, it would be either me or the forces of Heaven that would try to kill her.

A threat to their very being, with much more ancient powers than any devils.

She groggily talked, a little fast, but still recognizable. Luckily, she saw nothing more than the opening of the secrets. It would take long time for her to figure that out, especially with the belief the devils had always had.

I released her and readied myself.

" Tamamo, we're escaping from this town, fast."

She nodded and prepared a transportation circle. But, before it was done, Sona Sitri groaned a protest against that idea. She stood up with the help of that boy, and sat up on her chair.

" I am your Student Council President before I am a devil inside this school…I vow to never tell anyone about this without your permission."

She was a devil girl with guts of a thousand veteran soldiers. To think she kept her bearings even after seeing so much, it was nigh impossible, or it should've been. This girl was really something. She deserved bearing the banner of devils far more than those old geezers that saw themselves as Gods from devil society.

I smirked and laughed at her. As a mercenary, I respected bravery and this devil had a ton of it in her pocket. I pulled out a whistle made of bones and put it in front of her.

" In respect for your unnaturally big guts, I'll give you this. You can call for my help when you have trouble, and it's free of charge."

She examined the whistle and picked it up, then pocketed it. We smirked and went home.

I heard that Roy Halphas transferred to Kuoh, and had a house near me. I walked there after getting Tamamo home.

And crap…

"WHAT THE HEELLL?!"

It was 6 storey mansion. True, he was a devil with enough wealth to buy a city and its people, but a freaking mansion in the middle of urban street?! What was his family thinking?

"…Yeah, this is too much."

I saw the guy who was nicknamed 'Scaled Demon' after the fight with Raiser. He still had his uniform on with a plastic bag full of food.

"…Yo. How are you?"

" Errand boy, huh? Good luck with that."

" It's girls and Yuuto. What can I do, huh? I bet they're breezing through my rooms now."

" Got all your stash covered?"

" I hid all of them in the roof yesterday. Besides, I camouflaged it manually, with paint. They'll never see the trapdoor."

" Nice idea. Maybe I should try that out, too."

We shared a little bro-time and entered his room.

" Seriously, Roy? 'My Sweet Time with Teacher' and 'Hot Session'?"

" So you have this kind of fetish…ara ara ufufufu~"

"…Pervert."

" I've never seen this kind of collection…"

Rias, Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba were all seated there with a stack of books in front of them and a hanging trapdoor right in front of them.

" NOOOO! My collection…"

I looked at a heap of mess that was once a guy who wrecked Raiser. I sighed and patted his shoulders.

" Take a deep breath, now. Yeah, that's it. Calm down, it's not over."

" No no no no no….This is so damn wrong…"

And so, his screams echoed through the neighborhood.

* * *

Night had always been devils' turf. But, that also meant it was the best time to hunt some of them. It was full moon, perfect for the church's combaters to haul in some devils. Usually, there was no one, since Kuoh was under Sir Zech Lucifer's protection, but tonight was a special case. I was walking down the street to convenience store when I picked up the sound of metal clanging.

" DIE, DEVIL SCUM!"

…

Okay, and a few cussing.

As a good civilian, I closed my ears and tried to ignore that. But, even my ears had certain limit to tolerate such muddy words. This was getting a little too annoying for me to ignore. I gained a huge tick mark on my forehead and when I changed direction, something was sent flying straight to my head.

" Oops."

I tilted my head a little, letting the projectile get embedded in the wall next to me. Well, that piece of scrap metal had some demonic scent to it, although it was almost completely erased by holy aura. I recognized that piece instantly. A piece of that sorry excuse of demonic swords that knight of Gremory created. Well, at least this was more durable than his last ones.

I picked up that shrapnel and pocketed it, then walked to the direction it came from. Bingo, I saw him with a priest with huge antique sword and a crazy smile on his face. He reminded me of those psycho characters in thriller games.

" Heads up."

I zapped the piece of metal with several thousands of voltage and threw it in ionized state straight at the priest. He widened his eyes and jerked aside, barely dodging the deadly beam of plasma I so casually threw at him. Wow, he got away with singed sleeves and burned cheek. Usually, people would get fried the moment it touched their skin.

I glanced at the sword he held in his hands. No doubt, it was a real holy sword, from the way my skin tingled. Every molecule inside my body screamed for me to snap that accursed item in two and shove them to his throat. Surprisingly, that man snorted and spat out a lot of…you know what, maybe I'd wash his mouth BEFORE killing him.

" F*** you, screwed asshole's bastard!"

Woah, nice words.

I lunged at him at half-speed, and introduced my elbow to his jaw. Crack meant 'hello!' in elbow-nese, by the way. He staggered, no doubt interested in my elbow. Maybe I should let him meet my knees next. They'd make a perfect pair.

" Oi, Gremory knight. You okay?"

I grabbed his hand and pulled him up. Once he was already standing, he fell again to his knees. I clicked my tongue, knowing that he might have been slashed by that accursed scrap metal. I knew I smelled something foul from him. It was his wound. Demonic blood when touched my something holy would emit a stench close to acid. It was corrosive, and poisonous.

I was angry, so angry that my blood started to turn to power and swirl around me like a crimson hurricane. Those swords laid waste to my clan, and banished them beyond this world. They were just living their lives until those swords just snuffed the life out of them. And it was a little better than this punk.

He killed for fun, not for home.

I was a little too fast for a human enhanced with a piece of Excalibur. I guessed he barely saw my afterimage before my heel slammed his jaw with such force, his head was nearly separated from the body. Even though I held back, this guy was a little fragile. His Excalibur was what held him together.

" You're sickening me. Be gone."

I nearly fried all his nerves and kill him off, and would certainly have done that, if not for a shadow that swiped him from in front of me. I raised my arm just in time to block a hit from his leg.

I looked up and saw that man on the roof, the stray priest beside him.

" Freed, go away. I'm dealing with this."

He scoffed and threw a ball to the ground, causing a bright flash to cover his escape. I let him escape, since that priest wouldn't cause too much trouble. I had to focus on this new challenger.

This man had the same clothes as Freed, although it's white. His skin was black, with a well-trained body, muscular and burly. I bet he could pulverize rocks with his bare fists without much problem.

" Looks like Freed located a big fish over here…Demon."

I twitched at the way he called me. The only ones who had such top-class information were either Archbishops…or The Crusaders. They were the remnants from the Templar War, each having their combat stats maxed out with drugs and blessings. They could barely be called humans, as their sanity withered in line with the increase of their power.

Moreover, they each had personalized Sacred Gears imbued with blessings and holy power. They were the very worst enemies for anyone with unholy blood.

He threw away his cloak, revealing combat suit below. He inserted his hands to pockets and drew out steel knuckles from there. Even from down here, I could feel them radiating enough holy power to power up a whole complex.

" Let me exorcise the last speck of demon blood from this earth and may the earth prosper under God…Amen."

He jumped down and took up a boxer's stance.

" Alduin, give me something nice."

 **{ Aye, partner }**

He materialized a zweihander with a built-in shotgun in the middle of the blade, with cartridge inside the pommel. I swung it around to test its weight and spun it carefully. I nodded and smirked. It was weighty, and durable enough. Plus, the edge was quite sharp.

" Come on, Crusader! Imma slice you up and blow your innards!"

I swung the blade in wide arcs, sending out blades of chi straight to him. The man simply punched the blades off the air…or he expected to do so, since his knuckles were cracked on contact.

" WHAT?!"

" Don't lump me in the same class as humans and devils, servant of God."

I swung the sword with style and stabbed it to the ground, erecting a barrier just in time before two missiles nearly blew everything up. Then, I pointed the muzzle of the gun at him and fired one shot.

A bullet imbued with magic sprang out and hit the shield he pulled out of nowhere. The bullet split up and spread, ricocheting on his shield, but he was pushed back a little. I was filled with both anger and bloodlust. This guy's squad destroyed my whole family, killed my parents, and took what's left of my humanity to feed the dogs. I swore to kill them on sight, and I wasn't the least bit interested in taking back that oath.

I sneered and nodded to the knight of Gremory…Kiba, was it? He constructed Felo'Melorn and lunged forward, straight at him. He switched his shield for two axes and welcomed him. As expected, Kiba's blade was severed in one blow. Kiba looked at the pommel in disbelief and I had to grab his collar to save him from certain death.

" This is not your stage, Knight of Gremory! Go away, NOW!"

I threw him aside and raised my blade to block his axes. Receiving his blows was like being crushed under a car, which was moderately heavy for me right now. Still, I couldn't fight freely if I had to take care of that knight over there. Fortunately, he had brains and got away from this place with his speed.

I pressed the trigger, just to shock him enough to loosen his press. I spun and slammed my heel at his cheek. A clean hit. He was instantly blown away to the nearest wall, placing a man-shaped crack on it. I sped up to him and elbowed his other cheek. Now, he looked like a black muscular teddy bear from hell with swollen cheeks.

He retaliated and raised his foot straight to my face. I stepped back, fully dodging his kick, but this man was sneaky. A golden blade jutted out from his heel and cut my cheek. It burned, and my blood sizzled like it was char-broiled. He didn't waste that chance and nearly said 'Hello!' with elbow-nese.

" So, even the holy priests use this kind of dirty tricks, huh? So much for being righteous."

I punched the wall down and made a hole in it. He leaped back to the roof and snorted.

" Perhaps you are too strong for me to take down alone…Well, whatever. I have your location now, so expect divine retribution soon, abomination!"

He turned back and I picked up a pachinko ball from my pocket.

Bad mistake.

You must never turn your back in a fight.

I tossed and flicked it with maximum output my current self could endure, which meant…100 megavolts. The ball flew in unimaginable speed, vaporizing the whole roof and ionizing the air, plus severing that guy's left arm. He gritted his teeth in pain, picked up his arm, and teleported out of here.

* * *

 **I can't believe how short the time between midterms and finals. I kinda write this in the middle of a short break, but I'll be sure to update when the holidays come. Thanks for reading and please leave a review. Ciao!**


	5. Demonic Eyes

**Highschool DxD is not mine.**

* * *

After I told that little brawl to Tamamo, she frowned and crossed her arms. She'd always hated it when I risked my life for whatever cause. Well, steering clear from problem would make me live longer, so I did my best to abide. But sometimes, I just had to fight.

" Geez, to encounter a crusader here…you've got the worst luck ever, eh?"

" It seems I used it all up when I met you…Considering you're the luckiest thing that's happened to me."

She punched my shoulder lightly, making me wince with fake pain.

" Then, I'll have to make it up, won't I? For exhausting your life-time's worth of luck."

" Just stay with me. That's all I need and will ever need."

She looked up and fell to the bed.

" You know, during my time as a Goddess, I've found that one is never enough for a man. It's not strange for Gods and humans alike. You've known how emperors throughout ages married multiple women? Or when queens take multiple husbands?"

" What are you talking about?"

" It's just…nah, never mind. Forget I ever asked that."

" If you think I'll cheat, forget it. You know what my fatal flaw is."

My fatal flaw was loyalty. Once someone gained my trust, I'd do whatever it took to protect and help him/her. I would never betray someone who'd practically seen everything from me. I wouldn't cheat, and that's a fact.

" Well, let's just sleep. We don't want to get scolded again tomorrow, do we?"

" It's my turn, by the way."

" Turn for what?"

I grinned and raised her favorite blanket. Then, I covered her up and tied her with extra thick rope for mountain climbers.

" To tie you up in your blanket for the whole night. Good luck sleeping, dear."

She thrashed around for the whole night, so I went out and slept on the couch. Man, she sure was loud. I could barely sleep that night.

" Yaaawwn~ If only you didn't trash around so much…"

" You tied me up. So that's your fault."

" Okay, okay. I'll make it up later…"

Fellow males, do not ever try to defy your woman. They could be scary as hell if they really wanted to.

And…

Don't ever let anyone's eyes get to her. Women usually felt bad if they were to be the eye candy of those she didn't want to impress. Men's eyes could be very terrifying. It was like being undressed by those eyes.

So, I returned their perverted eyes with a glare and all went well.

School was boring, as usual. Although I could see the excitement the normal kids had. Friends, teachers, and problems…they all contributed to this thing named youth. I managed to get through yet another day inside this living hell, thanks to my arm-pillow.

Now, I felt a rather unpleasant aura coming from the ORC club, so I was going to investigate, but it seemed like Tamamo had gotten there first. I waltzed into the room, getting annoyed looks from two very suspicious people in white robes. They pulled off their hoods and showed us their faces.

One was a pretty athletic girl with blue hair and a streak of green on it. She had a big package lying beside her, which was emitting this stinky aura I sensed earlier. Another was a girl with light brown hair tied in pigtails. Well, I had to admit, she was kind of cute, in innocent and energetic way. If only she didn't emit holy stench from her body.

" I feel I've known you before…where was it?"

The brown haired girl loomed closer and studied my face. She had this cinnamon-like smell…a little too sweet for my tastes. I pushed her back a little.

" Sorry. Not comfortable around women."

" Oh…I see."

She sat back. It was my turn to examine her. Wait, she was right. I did meet her somewhere before. Not many people had purple irises. However, before I could pinpoint that fact, the blue-haired one slammed her fist to the table.

" Enough chit-chat. We'll tell you what we want, Gremory-hime."

This blue-haired one was quite aggressive. She boldly stated her position and pressed on, without any constraint. She was a power idiot type, who settled everything with fists. She fixed her glare on me and scoffed.

" I'm Xenovia, no surname, and this is Irina Shidou. We were sent from Vatican to retrieve… items from your territory."

Akeno came and placed a tray filled with cups of tea on the table. Rias picked one and sipped it elegantly, like any royal should. Xenovia and Irina didn't even cast a glance to this form of politeness, even though Rias had proven its safety.

" Well, what might these items be?"

" That is our business, Gremory-hime. Please stay out of this."

Rias giggled and placed down her cup. Her smile changed to a rather cold and formal one. It was scary how fast she could change expressions, really.

" So, you expect me to let you run rampant in my territory, without even knowing what you're after. As you might not know… trust is the very foundation of cooperation."

Tamamo leaned to me and whispered to my ear.

" She's a fast learner."

" This is going to be fun."

We went back to observing with renewed interest. I was a little intrigued by these items. Holy swords had become quite a problem to them, as most of their most powerful collection was left in the depth of hell.

" We can just kill you and be done with it. We were instructed to slay anything that stands against us."

" So, you're saying you tell us out of kindness? Is that how you ask for someone's help?"

I smirked at her retorts. She really was improving in terms of political abilities. These girls didn't stand a chance. They might as well draw their blades and try using force.

" Fine…Not long ago, several Excalibur pieces were stolen. Right now, about 4 of them are missing. We were tasked to retrieve them and return them safely."

" By who? I thought Excalibur pieces are safely hidden inside several churches."

" We believe they were stolen by Kokabiel and his henchmen. Out intel said that he's here in this town, so we marched here. After all, Excaliburs can only be fought with Excaliburs."

I wanted to laugh. They were sending two brats that were still wet behind their ears to retrieve such important items? And against Kokabiel on top of that?

" Not to sound rude, but do you all have a death wish?"

They all looked at me as if I'd grown a second head, especially the devils except Kiba. He'd been staring from the corner for a while in silence. I decided to ignore him and focus on these two suicidal idiots in front of me. They scoffed at me and patted their concealed blades. A huge package wrapped in bandages and a thin ribbon tied to Irina's arm.

" Excalibur can only be matched by another. God bless, we'll get them back for sure."

The devils cringed at the mention of a holy name laced with faith. I was affected too, but nothing more than tingle on my head. This holy system God made was really powerful. To think it could affect anyone in the world…He wasn't called 'Almighty' for nothing. However, I thought the church would value their warriors more. These girls had little to no experience at all, if I judged from how they carried themselves.

" Do you have some sort of secret weapon? Like, another holy artifact?"

It was high chance that those girls acted on blind faith. The church's belief was quite extreme, after all. If the high priest told them to fall on their swords, I wonder if they'd do that. However, I had no time to evaluate how they acted, since the blonde knight behind me was already oozing with bloodlust. As I wanted to conclude my talk, Xenovia turned her attention to Asia. The blonde nun gasped at her glare.

" You….you're Asia Argento, correct? I feel I've seen your face before…"

I got ignored. Damn you, blue haired idiot exorcist!

" Y-Yes, I am…" She stuttered.

" Hmph…I heard that the saint had fallen to a witch…and now a devil? Fitting for someone who abandoned God's grace."

" I…I…"

" Tell me, do you still believe in Him?"

She looked down, suddenly interested with the wooden floor.

" Come on, Xenovia. She's a devil now, if you haven't noticed."

" I-I've believed in God for my whole life…I can't just throw Him away…"

Xenovia's eyes sharpened. She walked to the sofa and brandished the holy sword. It was a double-handed broadsword with three points instead of one. The guard was shaped like an axe, and the pommel had a cross on its base. She raised it overhead, preparing to strike Asia down.

" Then, let me cut you down. Even if you've sinned, I believe God will still forgive you. Let this holy sword cleanse all your sins!"

I was irritated by now. I'd seen how those church people do things they thought was right. Sending people on death missions, throwing rocks at sinners, exiling, experiments…I was sick of them. Add my own hatred to the mix, and boom.

I lunged at the blue girl and grabbed her wrist. She struggled, but I kicked her back of knees, forcing her to kneel. Then, I twisted her wrist, snatching the sword off her. It all happened so fast, the others except Tamamo couldn't even react.

" XENOVIA!"

Irina jumped forward, transforming her ribbon to a katana. I raised my feet to block her slash nimbly. Luckily, I always wore shoes with titanium soles. Handy for breaking a jaw or two. Then, I released Xenovia and walked in front of Asia. I spun her sword around and stabbed it on the floor. Its aura was making my hand itch.

" Tell me, are you living?"

" Of course I do. What are you getting at?"

" Just wondering how you can kill a maiden who lives to heal others for most of her life. If you can do it so easily, you're pretty much dead here, aren't you?"

I pointed at my chest.

" It's not killing, it's divine mercy."

" Same old story. You know, it's the same if you say you're putting her out of misery, or divine mercy, or whatever, she's gonna be dead anyway, right?"

" Her fault for straying off God's path. It's my job as His servant to pass judgment."

My eyes constricted, and my left arm's tattoo ached. It was hidden by my sleeve, but still, it felt like burning. I swore I saw red a bit.

" You're a human, killing another human? Has God ever told you to kill her? Or just those shitty fat priests from your holy HQ? "

I pointed at her and scowled.

" You've got no rights."

My words reverberated with power, shaking the room's atmosphere. I didn't know what happened, but my voice was deeper and calmer, despite my anger.

She staggered, but held her ground.

" She's a witch who healed filthy devils. Betrayer like her must be cleansed to give her a place in Heaven!"

Even Tamamo snorted at that nonsense she was spouting. I turned to Asia and used Alduin's power to see her worst nightmares. I gritted my teeth when I saw a little girl no older than ten being chased out and called witch, nearly executed if it weren't for her valuable gear. She was no more than a little naïve child with heart more humane than the holiest saints.

"….you, you said you're some executor to heretics, didn't you?"

" Yes, I did."

" Kill yourself, then."

The tone in my voice sent shivers to their spine. I guess I put a little too much bloodlust inside. I'd had enough of the church taking lives just for fun. It had been the same. Divine judgement, mercy, blah blah yada yada.

" If the God you're talking about is as loving as the Bible stated, and as merciful as those priests from church say, it means you're the heretic here for trying to kill one of His most devoted follower, despite being a witch, devil, whatever you call her."

" WHA-! How dare you call me that, you-"

Irina stopped her from saying more.

" Careful, exorcist. Watch where you're standing, or you might get 'divine punishment'."

The devils smirked.

" Well, despite being a devil, she still heals people without asking anything. You're a servant of God, wielder of holy sword, yet you want to kill a holy maiden. How does that sound?"

She was silenced, knowing her defeat. She turned tails and went for the door, but swords erupted from the ground, blocking her path. Kiba smiled and pointed his sword at her.

" Wait, I haven't offered you a senpai's hospitality, have I?"

" Back off, knight."

" Not until I can shatter that cursed sword of yours and cut you down. I've been waiting years for this day to come…I'm not losing it."

He let out an insane cackle while dragging his blade, now clad in black aura.

" Uh oh."

" Well…Xenovia, Irina, do you accept his challenge?"

Rias rubbed her temples. It seemed she was a little troubled with the problems if this escalated to more than just a small battle. But, Xenovia pointed at me.

" Alright, but I want him to join as well."

I sighed when Kiba gave me a hopeful and threatening glare. Well, it wouldn't hurt to see the capabilities of church's warriors. Plus, I wanted a little workout. I ate a little too much of Tamamo's onigiri at lunch.

" Fine. Have it your way."

* * *

I really shouldn't have underestimated a devil's influence. We were brought to a personal training ground in the middle of the forest. This school was already fancy by itself, but that kind of space inside a forest was just…

" No killing, no fatal strikes. Just immobilize the enemy."

" Aye. I don't feel like declaring war with the church now."

Kiba stayed silent. He brandished his blade and put it on his shoulder. I shrugged and cracked my knuckles. How many bones should I break? She kinda broke the only heart an innocent girl had, so I guess I'd break half of all their bones. It should be fine, humans got 206 of them, anyway. Losing half wouldn't be much problem.

I decided to keep myself to fists and feet to minimize giving away my powers to enemies. I just hoped they wouldn't agitate me too much, or I might end up using more strength than I'd need to beat them.

" I'll erect a barrier around here."

Akeno raised her hand to create an invisible barrier strong enough to hold high class devils' power. Well, that meant I couldn't go overboard. I bet Tamamo told them that. She and I had one track mind, after all.

" Ready when you are."

I said, gesturing 'come get me!' with my hand. Xenovia and Irina both cast aside their white cloaks, revealing a very…tight black combat suit. It became totally clear that those designing them were helpless perverts. It didn't reveal anything, but their figures were hugged so tightly, I started to think it was a little too uncomfortable for battle.

" At last…my comrades..you shall be avenged…"

Both exorcists split up and circled around. Kiba raised his blade and stopped Xenovia on her tracks. His Felo'melorn enhanced with his thirst for revenge successfully held up against the Excalibur Destruction. However, in terms of strength, he fell behind Xenovia little bit. He had to utilize both his speed and technique if he wanted to win.

But…

His head was a little too hot to use his moves well.

I dodged a swing from Irina, and ducked right before the sharp-edged ribbon could cut off my head. She transformed her weapon to a katana again and lunged forward. I raised my foot and blocked her swing mid-way and swiped her leg. Once she fell, I purposely stepped on the ground beside her head.

Being a hardhead she was, she rolled and stood up without knowing I purposely missed. She picked up a stance again, this time focusing energy on her blade. She dashed forward with more speed than before and slashed widely. She was too close to me, hindering my ways to dodge. What's more, if I punched her, things would happen. So, I raised my knee and hardened my blood vessels by feeding them energy. The sword bounced harmlessly on my leg, then I clenched my fist and punched her on the guts, gently.

" Guaaahh!"

Okay, not so gently.

She flew back and hit the limit of the barrier. I winced as she fell down, unable to stand up. But, I had to respect her tenacity. She stabbed her sword to the ground and used it as a crutch to support herself. I sighed and walked to her.

" Just stay down already. Laying low to keep your life isn't as shameful as others speak… because they still live to tell the tale."

" No… I remember now. You're that gloomy guy people kick around just for fun in the orphanage, aren't you? Despite that…you still had the heart to save me from a car crash with your own body…"

My eyes widened. It really wasn't that big of a deal. I just thought that more people would cry if she died instead of me. She still had parents, and I had no motivation to live, so I never thought of it as a noble act. More like a win-win situation.

" Uuhh… it sounds noble if you talk about it like that. I was just trying to kill myself back then."

" But still…It pains me to see a man like you becoming a devil."

I laughed at her.

" Seriously? You think I'm a devil?"

" Well, what are you, then?"

" That's for me to know and for you to find out, exorcist."

I threw a bottle of red liquid to her.

" Drink it. That potion will heal you before you know it."

She obliged and her wounds closed up like they never happened, including the acne marks she had because of puberty. Potions were my specialty, even though I once got an F for chemistry. I just learned things from my clan's lost books. Their knowledge was out of this world.

But, before I could return to Tamamo, the barrier shattered to pieces. I looked at the descending light, which those believers would call miracle. But, he was a man in priest clothing I fought against last night. He somehow reattached his arm and wore a deep scowl on his face.

" Stay back, Sister Irina. This man is dangerous and must be killed ASAP."

" You again? Man, I should've brought your arm home with me yesterday. At least you wouldn't have had to reattach it."

" Father Carlo? Why are you here? We thought we were the only ones on this mission!"

He gave her a sickening smile socialists would use to sweet talk their next victims.

" Do you think I'll let two of my star students go off to face death alone?"

" Cue the crap, Crusader, or you'll lose both arm this time."

He laughed at me. I guessed he had several cards up his sleeve now. He pulled out something from his pocket to reveal a chain with a cross hanging from its end.

" Well…"

He also brandished a metal gun that had concentrated holy power in its bullets. It could also be used as blunt weapon since it was also blessed.

" Let's see how you do that again, demon."

My eyes twitched and I summoned the zweihander I'd been using recently. It was a nice blade, being able to fight against Excalibur pieces.

" Father, stop!"

Irina shielded me from the priest. Kiba and Xenovia stopped fighting, and placed their attention on the newcomer.

He lashed out at me so quickly that I had to rely on my senses instead of my eyes. The chain's movements were anything but predictable, and I had to admit. Getting hit by that much holy power would leave a permanent mark. It seemed he stopped holding back and came at me with full force. Plus that annoying gun would prevent me from getting near him at all costs. I noticed that the cross had sharp edge, and the chain itself was thin and smooth, almost like a rope made of steel.

However, I grabbed Irina's shoulder and jumped away before we both get skewered.

" Seriously? Even your own subordinate?"

" Sister Irina, why are you shielding this mongrel?"

She stood up and raised her arm to shield me from his sight. Pathetic, I don't need or want a girl to protect me from anything. Except for Tamamo, since she was practically a Goddess.

" Father, this man had protected me before, and still continued to do so. You can't kill someone who's such heart!"

Uh oh. I felt some killing intent directed at the crusader from a certain silver-haired observer. I could feel the heat on my back. She must be practically on fire right now. The crusader seemed unfazed, and pointed at me.

" Do you even know what he is, sister?"

" A human, last time I checked."

He chuckled. I hated that laugh. People only laughed like that when they wanted to destroy other's life, especially when the subject of that laugh was me.

" Sister, you know that devils are the remnants from the Archangel Lucifer that was cast out from Heaven million years ago. Now, who is the definition of evil BEFORE they entered the Underworld?"

Crap. This man…

" Demons, the archenemy of God, bane of everything holy. Devils' unholy traits came from the remnants of power the demons possessed before being sealed to the abyss of Underworld. You do know that God sealed His enemy inside an abyss from the Bible, correct?"

Before I could move and rip his insides open, a column of fire erupted from the spot he was standing. I looked behind, and saw a very angered Tamamo clad in fox-fire. Surprisingly, the man came out only with tattered robes and burn marks.

" And the man in front of you, is the one carrying royal blood of their warlord. The last prince of demons, Hiiro Bloodreaver."

…

It's out. This insane man had just blurted the top secret the church had been protecting for years, just to get me angry.

" It is our job to cleanse this filth off the world and send him to his kind's place. Evil being like him has no place in God's mercy."

Irina was hesitant, but my girlfriend was not. She launched a barrage of fireballs straight at the warrior and set him on blue flames. He screamed in shock as fox-fire wasn't just simple flames. It couldn't be put out so easily, and ate magic power to stay alive.

I raised my zweihander and aimed its tip with shotgun on him. Two shots, and he fell like a bird shot down.

" Shut up, dolt. I'm tired of your shits already."

Welp, I forgot he had a shield.

" The Crusaders were made to battle vermins like you, demon! Don't think it's going to end so easily!"

" Like I said…"

I channeled my power to my left eye, feeling its very structure change. I never tried it before, but apparently it could increase perception.

A little too effective.

His movements seemed so sluggish it was almost funny. He looked like those comedians who tried to imitate slow motion moves. However, I could move at normal speed. I walked beside him and kicked his leg. His expression could change, but he was still moving at super slow motion. Then, I punched him in the face and disabled the power.

When I turned the power off, he was suddenly smashed away to the ground with a bruise on his face and unable to stand.

"…shut up."

I acted all cool, but I was scared the hell out of my mind. Who knew I could do such an OP thing if I used blood magic to my eye. I wanted to ask myself what the hell just happened, but, well, cleaning up this mess should go first.

" Next, my right eye…"

I decided to turn this guy to my personal guinea pig. I channeled blood magic to my right eye, and suddenly saw a chain lashed out at me. I instinctively raised my blade to block, letting the chain bounce harmlessly on its flat side.

I looked at him, and another vision came.

" Right punch… The chain is just a feint…"

I ducked and somersault-kicked his right shoulder, effectively breaking his shoulder blade. This eye… could see several moments to the future! I easily shot down all his strikes, mostly because I knew where and how he'd attack next.

If anything, I'd say he was persistent.

He kept trying to attack me with different styles. This time, he tried the Roman way. After equipping a holy spear and a tower shield, he marched to me. Well, Roman's style of fighting would only be effective if he had a disciplined army with impeccable synchronization.

One side step was more than enough to dodge, but he swung his spear. I simply jumped and kicked his head hard. He crumpled to the floor. I was flabbergasted. This power… was far beyond anything I'd ever seen! What-What if I tried activating both with my demonic power and blood magic combined?

Left eye 'accelerated' all my stats dramatically, while the right eye predicted what my enemies would do next. If both were activated…I'd be practically unstoppable. However, this kind of power wouldn't work against someone with higher stats than me. Even if I knew how he'd attack, too much power would still break my defense eventually. And…

" Ughh…"

My head felt like they'd split open any second. I wobbled, but my experience in battle didn't allow me to crumble in front of enemies. My regenerative traits took over quickly and the pain subsided, but it was obviously more than a normal injury. That power needed a lot of price to be used. Tamamo rushed to my side and supported me.

" You okay?"

" No problem, Tama-chan…Just give me a minute and I'll be fine."

I slapped myself out of my dizziness and sat on the grass-covered ground. The Crusader was out cold already. Force equaled speed multiplied with mass. So, with my accelerated fist smashing his face and a kick on the same spot, I doubted he'd wake up soon.

" At least he's silent now. Well, what will you do, heir of Gremory? Tell your brother?"

The red-haired princess looked down.

" I'll keep quiet. You did free me from Riser, after all."

" You have my thanks. Now, if you don't mind…"

I stood up and went for the gate.

" We're going home."

* * *

" What was that, Hiiro? Some new powers?"

We arrived home and Tamamo just bombarded me with questions. I laughed nervously and sat on my bed, while she sat on my desk.

I focused my blood magic to my left eye and felt everything slow down once again. But, this time I could make things speed up, slow up, and even go reverse. I focused on a fly coming from the window, and made it disappear by accelerating it beyond limits.

" It's obviously not perception…But, what is it, really?" I muttered.

Tamamo looked at me and offered me a mirror. I took it from her hand and tried to see what could make her so astounded. My eye was red with pattern of three long tomoes separating three beads from each other. The pattern spun, and my world changed. My surrounding's color was tinted red, furniture, wall, and pretty much everything I saw. But, I was still able to know their original color, since the red color wasn't that thick.

I blinked, and I was back to the real world.

" What in the world?"

" Looks like your left eye allows you to access a world conflicting with this world. You can bring another person's real body there, but you can also injure a person's real body from there by hurting his own version of body in that realm. These two worlds are so close that if you manipulate yours, the real world will also be affected."

" I can manipulate all kinds of vectors there…That means…"

" Correct. My guess is flawed, but I suspect this is the physical projection of your royal bloodline power, along with your right eye. Still, that's some OP power you've got."

" My…royal demon's bloodline, huh? I never thought it would be like this…"

The tension was high, until the Fox Goddess decided to break it.

"What will you call it? Name it like some ninja anime that calls black flames 'Amaterasu'?"

" Naruto is cool, you know. But, no, I'm giving it a name some other time."

" Gotcha. Wanna see how your right eye looks like?"

I pondered for a moment, then fell to bed immediately. She closed on to me, suspecting if maybe, some side effects had taken its toll on my body. But, I was just tired, so I pulled her down as well and laid there unmoving. She squirmed around in my arms, flustered. Even if she was a goddess, deep down she was still a girl, huh? I was glad to reaffirm that.

" Hi-Hiiro! Put me down! Come on!"

" Ssshhh… Trying to sleep here…"

I buried my head on her chest, basking in her warmth. Her body was soft, yet firm. And I just couldn't help feeling safe near her. She was my only place to return, my sole respite in this cold and chilly world. If I lost her…

I might not last for long.

She sighed and stroked my head a little, running her fingers across my hair. She gently kissed my forehead as I drifted off to deep sleep. Perhaps using those eyes _did_ take a lot out of me.

Tamamo POV

His face looked calm and innocent, I didn't have the heart to wake him up. He usually had a scowl or nothing at all on his face. Well, I couldn't blame him for that, since I knew he'd had so much hardship before and after I knew him. But, still, I always wanted to see him smile and happy, no matter what.

" _He looks so cute, almost like a child…"_

All he'd ever asked was a peaceful life… yet people kept popping up and trying to snatch it from him. It wasn't like he always killed people for fun in his hitman job…It's just things get a lot easier if you have connections. I almost hated this world for making him like this. But, if I also fell to hatred, who'd pull him out of there?

For now, I was happy to be with him.

And I wouldn't exchange this moment for anything in this world.

* * *

Kuoh was silent at night, only to be disturbed by the sound of flapping wings. Black wings descended from the sky, revealing a figure with dark coat on his body. He landed on the ground and marched forward, followed by a fat man in priest clothing, a lean man with white hair carrying four glowing items inside his coat, and a dark-skinned man, also in priest clothing.

" It's a bit hard to believe that a devoted servant of God would join my cause… Well, your enemy's enemy is your friend, eh?"

" You are correct, Kokabiel…This stalemate is starting to get sickening. If the fall of one city can erase the wicked presence of that abomination…it would be worth the risk. Those two sisters of Maou are just a mere bonus."

" The newly incited war shall be interesting… I can't wait to prove the superiority of the fallen angels!"

An insane laugh echoed through the skies of the city.

* * *

 **Tadaaa~ I made this chapter right after finishing the previous one. Thanks for reading, please tell me how you think!**


	6. The Prey Becomes The Hunter

**Hiatus is officially done! Highschool DxD is not mine.**

I was still skeptic about using my eyes. Okay, they were useful and effective. But they used too much energy as payment.

Ugghhh…

I should've skipped school today.

My head was throbbing like it had a mega-speaker inside. My sight was hazy and I could barely walk straight, having to rely on my natural instincts to do so.

" Whoa, easy there." Tamamo grabbed me before I fell.

" Thanks…."

" Those eyes sure ate a lot."

We walked to school like that, with her supporting me when I was too tired to walk properly.

By the time we arrived at class, I was able to at least walk by myself, more or less. Although I had some occasional buzz in my ears, my feet weren't as wobbly as before. My mind wasn't that prone to blacking out anymore, but I was obviously not in my best condition. My head had this buzz that made it want to split apart, along with my very, very heavy eyes.

Lucky me, I could use this as excuse to stay in infirmary for today.

" Chigusa-kun, where are you going?"

The teacher looked at me with a funny look on her face, along with about half of class was practically dying to laugh at me.

" Infirmary, ma'am. My head is killing me."

" The infirmary is that direction."

He pointed at the other direction of me walking. Hey, I could see you sighing from there, Tamamo. Stop it, my sense of directions wasn't that bad.

" Thank you, ma'am."

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly, and went to that direction. Moments later, I saw Tamamo jogging towards me.

" Sensei said you might spend an entire hour walking around and end up collapsing somewhere because you SUCK at directions, so I came here."

" Gee, thanks for your little faith in me."

" Your sweetest welcome, Hiiro. It's nice that you've cheered up already."

How kind of her, I thought.

Even though my head felt pretty much broken, my instincts were not impaired at all. As soon as I felt a cold chill on my neck, I had already put myself right in front of Tamamo and hardened my left side's blood vessels.

It might be a little too overboard, but against an assassin capable of giving off that kind of chill, you could never be too careful. This kind of bloodlust was preserved only for psychopaths or experienced killers.

I still acted like I didn't know someone was watching me, but my pupils eyed the bloodlust's place. He was skillful, he didn't even let me catch a glance at him, yet his bloodlust was still apparent. At the very least, he was a high-ranking hitman, whose job records involved stealth killing, terrorization, or even international espionage. His hiding skill was obviously top-notch.

Being alone right now might be the worst idea.

But, a skilled assassin was capable of striking victims no matter what the conditions. I'm sure he had plenty experience of killing someone in a crowd. Holing up inside his a room would be nice, but it opened the possibility of lateral destruction, which meant the infirmary would get blown up along with him.

What to do, what to do.

" Tamamo, you go back to class. I'm going to sleep and rest for a while."

" Okay, but make sure to rest, okay?"

5 minutes after she'd gone, the light had been turned off, like a power outage. Oh, this assassin didn't waste time. Nice quality he had. After I assured that his eyes were on me, I got up without suspicious movements, acting like a sleepy high school guy. I tore a blank page off a random book and started folding.

Slow, slowly, and as attracting as I could, I created something similar to a child's prank tool.

My efforts paid quite well, as his eyes were locked in my hands. Once it was done, I raised it high. This was merely a child's tool, so I expected him not to know about this little trick. If he knew, then I'd be as good as dead. My powers would be overkill when used in place as small as this, and it would trigger the devils' reaction. Then, I'd have to flee again.

Gremory and Sitri wouldn't be much problem, but the Devil Kings and other clans would be more than troublesome.

The devils in this school harbored good relations with me, but all factions always had eyes somewhere. Moreover, two sisters of Maou were here, so double that chance.

" Flash."

A loud popping sound was emitted from the paper's folds. It was some kind of prank that copied a firework in terms of sound. In this case, a more effective version of nekodamashi. Bring up the opponent's consciousness to highest level, than break it down with a shock. Once it was a success, one's nerve system would be temporarily paralyzed.

It looked like my strategy could at least be called a success.

He staggered, obviously surprised that I saw through his hiding and managed to incapacitate him, albeit for a few seconds. Now, I hated stealth assassins very much, mostly because I also sucked at it. So, in order to bring ruin to them, I created some methods to defeat them. One of them was perception. No one could get into my range of 5 meters without me knowing.

Another was well, instincts. You couldn't exactly dodge a mach-speed bullet from 5 meters, after all.

He was already standing behind me when I sent a shock straight to his brains. As expected of a veteran, no noticeable sound at all.

" What-the-hell…"

And seriously, as expected of a veteran. He avoided full paralysis from my shockwave earlier by biting his own tongue. Now, he dropped his gun, but immediately caught it with another hand then pointed it at my direction.

Such skill deserved nothing short then a royal praise.

I back-handed his gun, changing its course. His shot landed on the table, but I paid no mind. My fist was connected with his jaw. I heard a satisfying crack, and smirked a bit. Even the slightest of advantage I had might decide between win or loss.

Heavens decided to annoy me once again.

The assassin stood up, grabbed his jaw, and put the dislocated bone back. He twirled his gun and knife, ready to fight again.

" That punch was quite something. You broke one or two, I guess."

This man… Was he really a human? My punch could've put a crack on a stone, and he took it right to the jaw so casually?

Right, no time to be pondering. He's pointing the gun right at me. I quickly ducked and ran with low stance. My body was nearly touching the ground, and when he aimed down again, I leapt up by using momentum of my movements and cocked my fist back.

He blocked it. NOW!

I grabbed his arm and pulled, then roundhouse-kicked his head. He tried to block with his other arm, but his body had been twisted a little too much to do that.

My kick fully impacted with his neck, although he jumped aside a bit, so the damage was mitigated a little, but that much should already incapacitate him.

This time, the crack sound was louder. I bet he'd have troubles setting his head straight after this battle.

Before he could use those weapons again, I robbed the knife off the hand I caught and kicked the other hand with the pistol. It slid quite far away, and turning my back against the opponent would be unwise.

Oh well, I got a knife, anyway. That's a plus.

After receiving a generous kick from me, he could barely stand. Even with the table's support, standing up proved to be a challenging task. Well, that strike was aimed at his central balance after all, if he managed to get up like nothing happened, that would be scary.

" _Should I just dispose of him and be done with it?"_

While I was thinking on how to deal with this man, he suddenly spun and spurted a liquid from a small vial in his hand. Once the substance came in contact with air, it turned to a huge red smokescreen. As a reflex, I held my breath. Who knew if the gas was venomous or not? It's better not to take chances.

As if on cue, my instincts screamed for me to escape from this situation. I had no time to calculate chances right now, so I obliged. However, the range was huge, and my speed could barely get me out of there when the gas ignited.

*BOOOMM*

A great explosion occurred and hot flames charred my skin. Blut vene blocked some damage, but it wasn't like it could become a perfect shield. As people said, even metal yielded under flames. I only got some minor burn marks, luckily.

I could feel his presence, entering my radius.

Even if my body was capable of healing physical injuries, burns were a little difficult. Those wounds needed more… delicate treatment. But, as long as it didn't impair my battle stats, I wouldn't even be concerned.

But, my sense, one of my most prized skills, was weakened by those wounds. Burns hurt very much, to the point I couldn't concentrate very well. The flames itself couldn't pierce through my skin, but the heat alone made my blood churn in agony.

Blood…

Need more…

BLOOOD!

My body felt hot, but not because of that pesky napalm gas from before. It was like my body was an overheating furnace, on the edge of exploding.

{Hooaahhmm… What happened, part-NER!}

Alduin was snapped out of it by something, but I honestly couldn't care less. My body was too hot to bear, and this smell... so sweet, so nostalgic… Like my whole self was drawn into that smell.

The moment my eyes gazed upon the red liquid from his head, I snapped. The whole world suddenly slowed down for me, as if trying to persuade me to just absorb all that precious energy coming out from his life itself.

{ PARTNER! STOP, THIS ISN'T YOU!}

What's that annoying scream inside my head? I'd silent it.

Phew, much better. Now, how should I make his blood come out without being dirtied?

" Electricity? Yeah, that should do it."

50 megavolts. That was my current limit. When hit by that, no matter what he was, he'd go ker-splat in a pool of blood.

My leg crashed against something slightly hard on his body. Ceramic armor, and enhanced magic robe? Meh, not enough against my kick.

" Guhaaa!"

Not only the front was destroyed, I drilled a hole through the back with the aftershock of my kick. By now, his organs should already be nothing more than a pile of pink gooey mush. Good for me. Blood would be easier to absorb, then.

His body functions already ceased to work, and he was barely conscious. My body felt refreshed, like I'd just taken energy pill. My eyes were very clear, and everything slowed down except for me.

Whoa, this tension made me feel so hyped up, damn it!

I raised my hand, gathering electricity and compressing them into a single destructive spear. I was already absorbing blood that leaked out from his wounds, and was about to completely destroy him to receive full-amount of his life energy.

" Hii…ro…"

Huh? Who the heck was that?

If I remembered right, my name wasn't Hero. Hell, I was nothing but a hero. More like, I was the ultimate enemy of a hero.

But, what made me cringe in fear was that tone. It didn't carry hatred, fear, or enmity at all. That beautiful voice was warm and it made my insides boil somehow. Who in the world had the gall or insanity to call me with such voice? I was a bloodthirsty monster who'd bite off enemy's windpipe to feast on their blood without remorse.

Unless…

I turned around, only to face boundless energy radiating from her. She was just a frail girl with long silver hair and unearthly beauty, if you counted that terrifying amount of power out, of course. Basically, she could crush me like a measly insect as easily as breathing.

Not only that, her aura was that of a divinity! Those with that kind of aura were revered as immortals, and those people were, well, immortal. How are you supposed to kill someone immortal, anyway? That would certainly make dictionaries be revised.

Instinctively, I jumped back to gain distance, although that would mean nothing when I faced her stats.

Eh?

My legs wouldn't obey me. My leg tripped, and I fell flat on my butt. Damn, move! If I don't, I'll…

Die?

Why? There wasn't a speck of killing intent in her eyes.

" Geez, you have to wake up, I'm not taking you home with blood splattered on your uniform."

She was so close already, and I'd already reached dead end. At this rate, this place would be my very grave… or not. My instincts were still unable to conclude what was so dangerous about her.

" Who… are…you?"

" Hmm~ You can think of me as a random goddess who happened to go to the same school as you."

She giggled, as the distance between us became non-existent. Breaking the wall sounded like a nice idea, but what the heck. I could do squat in this distance. In this position, she called checkmate already.

Not… yet.

Warm, her hands on my cheeks…

Eh, this isn't a good time for that! I'd had enough with those kinds of smooth death kind of threats, and this might as well be one of them.

No good…

My body was already immobilized by some unknown circumstances… For some reason, the hot burning wounds from the explosion earlier felt kind of numb now…

" Damn."

I literally lost all sense of myself and succumbed to whatever substance inside my body.

" Well, this feels nostalgic."

She grabbed me and put my body into a better and more comfortable position. Then, she put her palm on my chest, channeling her fox flame inside my body.

" Do you remember that time? You were still ten, and you already loathed everything that had to do with this stupid world. Those people… even though they had no imaginations and just turned everything into grey, stagnant life, they 'persevered' and went through with that kind of boring, guided life."

The flame didn't hurt, but it somehow fought against the irritating heat inside and wrestled its way through. I may sound weird, but I wanted those blue flames to win instead of that blood-red flames tainted with black inside me.

" That time, you just said, screw it all, I'll live as I please, and do as I want! Pretty cool, you know? You ended up realizing those reckless words."

Without my permission, my mouth responded, followed by a trail of liquid wetting my cheeks. My eyes were sort of blurry, too, but still, her presence didn't even shake from me.

" I'm going to change this world, this shitty world that loathed me and forgot all about you. Every inch of it, mark my words! Stay with me, or you'll miss it…. Funny that you think about it now."

Okay, when did I say something so embarrassing like that? Kill me now.

Ugh, this numb body rejected my idea. Deactivate already, inconsiderate body.

" Hmmh, but this isn't the kind of change you want, right? There's nothing you can change in this state, Hiiro, no, Delitor El Sanguinis."

Oh, so that's my name. But, that name went along with an infamous cold-blooded assassin who took impossible orders. I wasn't very proud of that.

" So, come back. You've still got to show me more how you change my world."

The blue flames extinguished my dark-red flames, and swirled inside. Any kind of impurities left behind was cleansed completely.

"…Yeah. Thanks, Tama-chan."

" Your welcome."

It was like waking up from a bad dream. I shook off the remaining dizziness from my head and looked at her. Not that I thought I could even scratch her, but better safe than sorry, right? As expected, not even her kimono was damaged.

" By the way, how did you know that name?"

I didn't even spare a glance to the pile of human meat lying nearby. His body was already half-buried in the wall, anyway. He was no threat. Tamamo giggled and refined her sitting position. As expected of a goddess. Her etiquettes were impeccable.

" Delitor El Sanguinis… The Blood Avenger, huh? That was your birth name, isn't it? The question is, why would I not know that? What kind of girlfriend am I if I didn't even know your real name?"

" Maybe because I never told you that…"

That name was just a stupid relic I buried, along with my heritage as a demon. Enacting a massacre so casually without remorse… just didn't feel right. But, then again, this girl just blew up my expectations to pieces again.

" Maybe you don't remember, but your former orphanage owner often called you that if nobody had been there."

" That's how I knew in the first place."

" There goes your question."

We were in comfortable silence until my instinct screamed like a failed singer.

" Hiiro, wait, what are you—"

I hugged her thin body and jumped to the left.

A huge, sharp gust of wind shaped like arrow suddenly pierced through the stone wall where I laid my back on before. I didn't know it was luck or not, because I'd look like a major idiot had it not happened, but honestly, I'd be okay if that didn't happen.

" Hiiro! We're getting away!"

" Roger."

We shared one thought, if this kept on, the school would be wrecked. I didn't want to make further paperwork trouble for that STC president, and besides, there wasn't nearly enough room to fight.

Before I exited the room, my eyes caught faint sight of a cloaked figure leaping from trees. That must be the target, huh? We jumped down from the closest window out of her line of sniping. If we jumped down from that room's window, the enemy would just turn us into porcupines.

I'd better arm myself first.

" Alduin, weapon."

{ OK, partner! Go wild!}

In my hand, a steel gun blade materialized. I felt the comfortable weight and put it on my shoulder. But, just as I was about to feel cool, a huge wind lance sailed through the air, threatening to skewer us both.

" Tch! Tama-chan, hold on!"

I stabbed my sword to the wall, effectively stopping our descent. I jumped away from the wall straight to the ground, followed by Tamamo.

Bastard wouldn't let us rest.

A rain of green arrows turned the ground into a flat pincushion. My huge sword was big enough to cover us both, lucky for me.

And by luck, I meant he exposed his position. I pointed the muzzle at the direction of those arrows came from and shot several rounds. Honestly, that gun fixed on the middle of my great sword was no plaything. It fired enchanted bullets to all direction like a shotgun.

A rustle, aside from my bullets.

I managed to smoke him out, that's a good thing.

A figure clad in leather robe leaped from above and landed about 5 or 6 meters from me. In his hand, a green rune bow could be seen. It was made of quite tough material, it seemed, and moreover, the aura it gave off… surely it was at least the same level of magic weapons like Durandal.

In one fluid motion, he plucked an arrow, and shot it straight at my direction. It wasn't something avoidable by just tilting or side-stepping. I had a feeling I'd get more than burns if I dodged it by narrow margin.

So, I brandished my blade, and faced its flat side against the incoming projectile. As I thought, this sword killed the momentum after making a loud bang, letting the broken arrow fall to the ground.

The sword itself was barely damaged, not leaving even a crack. As I thought, hybrid metal used for this sword was superb!

" Hiiro! Don't let him escape!"

" Of course!"

I shot to several trees surrounding us, making conductors for an electric cage. I was really lucky I found that old man's gun and brought it with me.

" Alright!"

I sent out fork lightning to those bullets, and let the high-voltage electric sparks form between them. This way, once something or someone tried to get through, that deadly fence of electricity would turn them to overcooked… stuff.

Forget it. Let's hope he wasn't idiotic enough to try.

He once again nocked an arrow, this time releasing a cluster of energy blasts from one shot. Of course, the most dangerous one was the arrow itself. It was right at the center, going far faster than others. Normally, you'd ignore the others and block the primary attack, but as if that trick was going to fool me.

I caught the primary strike, hurting my hand a little in the process. The cluster shots hit the barrier's keys, but they were simply deflected.

" Did you think I'd let my cage break that easily? Naïve."

The red veins that usually covered my body when I used **blut vene** blinked on their surface, and glowed red. Of course, simple attacks would have no effect on that barrier.

Underestimating me, huh? That wouldn't end well.

…

Seriously, this pride of mine might become a thorn later on.

" … "

As he was stunned for a second, I dashed forward and slashed wide. Without being fully conscious yet, the enemy's body reacted and jumped back. The loose robe was caught and torn off by my blade. Well, this stuff was made durable, not sharp.

Amazingly, the person I'd been lashing out on wasn't a male, unless a male could have long blonde hair tied in ponytail, thin and supple body, and some curves only fairer gender possessed.

Well, that didn't change the fact that she tried to murder me, but I'd tone down my strength just a bit. Women were better in techniques. Using too much strength would be advantageous for her, as strength types were easy to counter.

" Hiiro, your wounds are still dangerous. Let's finish this quickly."

My body was in full agreement with her suggestion. It didn't even hold back in showing protests. Moreover, my adrenaline had dropped to intolerable levels and returned everything it held in place without mercy.

The wounds I got from that cursed liquid explosion and my overexerting strength…

I swallowed another blob of blood back into my system. My regeneration might be a little good, but for some reason, those burns healed very sloppily. Perhaps, because of a special brew? Or because of my going wild?

Nevertheless, I was on a time attack mode, only without game-like buffs.

" You're right. I'd rather not lose anymore blood."

Surprisingly, she threw her bow away. That motion drew my complete attention to the thrown weapon and slowed down my reaction to what she did next. She clapped her hands together and chanted so fast, it sounded a little more than a murmur. The language itself was foreign. Not foreign in terms of country, but foreign, well… _foreign._

" Druid language…. How on earth an elf…"

I heard Tamamo mutter beside me. Well, whatever spell she was executing, it couldn't be anything good. I wanted to dash and cut her down before she could finish the spell, but somehow that idea sounded ridiculous.

Because a forest far thicker than the Kuoh academy's swallowed the whole area, blocking the sunray with a tent of branches and leaves.

" Druid language? Shouldn't that be natural for elf to master druid magic?"

" The fact that one of them is here is outrageous. Mages are highly forbidden from leaving their sacred grounds, and elves are famous for their strict rules."

" Oh, so she should be stuck in their land. But, you know… she looks kind of… familiar…"

Tamamo frowned a little, but took a closer look. Then, her frown disappeared.

" Isn't that one of the orphans from that place? I thought all of them were moved to another once you ran away."

" Really? Hmm, I don't remember."

We broke out of our lovely banter when a lot of thick branches swooped in and stabbed the ground we stood on. Bad news, there were a lot more where they came from. As nimble as we were, there was a limit. Those fat healthy wooden projectiles were living. They seemed to lock on at us and attacked without rest.

Tamamo used her divine flames and projected a blaze shield that destroyed any branch brave enough to get near her. I, unfortunately, had no such power and was separated quite far from her while dodging.

" Blut vene!"

Red circuit-like lines extended from my body to the ground. Once it had formed a full circle, a glowing red sphere erupted from the borderline and acted as a barrier.

*BAM*

They collided against my barrier, shaking what's inside as well. Since this barrier was connected to me, I also felt pain when they received damage over maximum quota. This barrier could mitigate heavy damage that could kill to nothing more than an itch, but those branches sure had some power.

Because the blow was hard enough to shake me internally.

" Hiiro!"

" I'm fine, stay where you are!"

Just after I said that, my barrier shattered to pieces and thick branches slammed to me. Hits after hits damaged me hard, until I finally laid sprawled, unable to even move.

The branches didn't stop even though I was already down. This was the perfect example of the dark world I lived in. Once you're unable to fight, you'd die, no questions asked.

As a last ditch effort, I poured blood magic into my eyes. My eyes turned red with bladed pattern instead of pupils inside. With my willpower, I slowed down the area by interfering with the separate dimension my eyes controlled.

Cool power didn't come without a deadly price.

My eyes bled, and I had to close it before my head exploded. But, I bought enough time to roll away. Luckily, I only used my right eye's power, not my left's so my sight was not completely deactivated.

 **{Dark Liberation}**

Alduin's voice echoed from inside the gear. My gauntlet materialized, and fashioned a black sphere that blocked out even light.

 **{ I forcefully opened the second stage of this gauntlet. Remember what I taught you!}**

I tried to recall Alduin's Spartan training. My mind searched quickly and scanned the archives inside my memory, hoping to find something useful.

" _Idiot. Why'd you use that outer energy, when you've got a whole lot of them just below? Bust 'em all out! Squeeze it out!"_

" _Kid, there's a lot more power inside this frail body that you can ever imagine. Do you know where?"_

" _Mind?"_

" _The heart."_

Right. Maybe that teaching of that old orphanage keeper would finally make sense. I focused on the deepest place inside my heart. Power was treasure, right? No treasure would just be placed on the outer layer of a labyrinth.

" Reach deep…"

Mothers could lift car to get her baby. A scared person could outrun even a car. There were so many examples on how emotions gave people strength. As for how to attain this kind of strength right here and now… That's something I needed to find out fast.

Now, what kind of emotion that would give me most strength?

 **{ Umm… Partner? You've got the wrong idea here…}**

Alduin, that lizard should've just told me. I was dying here, and he wanted to play puzzles? I couldn't remember all those stuffs he drilled mercilessly, except for some bits and pieces here and there.

That's it!

Demonic power equaled evil, evil equaled dark emotions! And my darkest emotions came from my early days! Alright, I hated recalling that time, but both Tamamo and my lives were at stake, so time to ponder.

" _Demon freak! Just die already!"_

" _Freak!"_

" _Freaky guy!"_

" _Weirdo!"_

…

" Enough."

I wasn't seeing any color except red. The only difference was light or deep red. However, there's a hazy projection of the more colorful world all around, like this world was actually just a red mantle wrapped on the real world.

Strangely, I felt more at ease here. Like someone inside his own habitat, his personal dwelling he knew best.

The vines that were going tear holes in me only hit thin air, as they all phased through me without giving any damage.

Wasting no time to think about something so trivial, I walked straight to the attacker. She flinched, and sent one of the biggest branches. The world flashed to the normal one in split second when it almost reached me, and my hand somehow caught the sharp end.

The hot feeling from when I beat down that old assassin returned in full force, only this time my anger fueled it, making my head clear.

Virtual vector manipulation and acceleration.

The virtual world my eyes projected could affect the real world a little, but it would be a very different story once I used them to affect something inside my 'world'.

" What?"

I only brought the elf inside, as Tamamo would face possible danger in all of these mess.

" We're inside my world, elf. In here… I reign supreme."

As if responding to my words, new feeling rushed through. There was this calmness, like my mind was imagining how to completely eliminate this impudent bastard here.

Her spell wasn't activated here, and her control couldn't go over the borders. This dimension was very close to the real world, but nevertheless, they were still separated. I knew for a fact that the AoE spell she used earlier was very taxing, not only from its power, but also her extremely ragged breathing.

Well, not like I wasn't treading on a dangerous line here too.

I accelerated without restraint and moved in a straight line. I know, that was a move available only for powerhouses with abnormal strength. She swiped her hand like a blade, but I arched my back to avoid getting my throat slit.

Using that momentum, I raised my left food and flipped while kicking her chin. In split seconds before my back touched the ground, I took out a steel pachinko ball from my pocket and aimed at her airborne body.

" Second time I use rail gun this month… What a city."

I'd never had to use such high-end skills repeatedly in one month. Even this virtual world I projected, how many times I'd used it since acquiring it? I had practically no rest ever since coming here.

My aim was stable, and I didn't even flinch when I set the power enough only to break some of her bones, not kill. The metal ball flashed before gaining velocity that broke through her defensive vines and smashed to her body.

She lost altitude along with her consciousness, and fell flat to the ground with a loud thud. Just before I blacked out, I sent her out and deactivated my eyes, unable to maintain them even a second longer.

" Phew, you've finally woken up. Sleep well?"

I felt my head lay on something soft. Having had my hopes up, I rolled around, only to see Tamamo sitting on a chair nearby. My expectation of man's paradise was mercilessly crushed immediately.

" Mm-hm. Although I'm a little disappointed about this way of waking up…"

The last part was said internally, of course. I wasn't so bold to demand a lap pillow out of the blue from her. Getting charred by napalm brew was nothing compared to Tamamo's divine fox flame.

She smiled and helped me get up. Admittedly, my body was horribly sore from all the fighting that I might be okay with skipping school for a week. Hey, health should be prioritized, you know! We went to the living room, where Tamamo had kept the still unconscious assailant caged and tied up.

" Your rail gun had too much oomph in it. That was like getting hit by a cannonball in size of a pachinko ball." She crossed her arms under her considerable assets.

" Ehehe~ in the first place, rail gun should make at least a fist-sized hole in her body. I held back a lot that time."

But according to common knowledge, elves had rather frail body. Maybe socking her with a rail gun was a bad choice, after all.

Meh, all is fair in love and war. Besides, she tried to turn me to an unrecognizable pile of meat, so she couldn't complain even if I made a hole or two.

Um, judging by Tamamo's pissed look, I'd just keep my mouth shut.

She wasn't really staring at me, but at the cage of blue flame behind me. Her eyes were cold and arrogant, much like when we first met. She walked to the kitchen, grabbed a glass of water, came back, and splashed the liquid on the unconscious elf inside.

" Puhaa~ That was refreshing."

Instead of gagging in shock, the elf just yawned like waking up daily. She flailed her hair back by swaying her head, mostly because her hands were cuffed. Her face was unchanging, still expressionless.

Almost like… a doll.

" Start talking, elf, before I burn that skin off your flesh."

Indeed, as gentle as she normally was, Tamamo had lived for thousands of years, looking at death left and right. Someone like her who understood the meaning of mortal life would be hesitant to let someone die meaninglessly, or even die in the first place.

Thus, her rage was fully directed at the elf, who had casually attempted to murder me.

" In the first place, what is there to talk about?"

The elf, still emotionless, tilted her head to side.

" To start with, your name and where you're from."

" Name? If you mean my serial code, I am elf subject number 7 arch. If you mean my birth name, I am called Ferris Greenwood. Where I'm from is… classified."

My eyes widened at the revelation of her name. I shot forward and thrust my arms through the flame barrier Tamamo created, earning a surprised yelp from said person. My slightly burnt arms grabbed hold of her shoulders, focusing her attention to me.

" Ferris? Do you remember me? Hiiro Bloodreaver, Hii-chan?"

At first, she was indifferent. But, after hearing the nickname she used to call me back in my younger days, her face showed some signs of pain. I could feel magic power at work, even though those cuffs should've nullified any kind of mana activation.

It meant there was a spell causing pain preemptively planted inside her head.

No, perhaps some spells with their effects chained to prevent intervention, exposure, or failure of the main one were planted too.

" Tama-chan. Do you have any dispel techniques on your arsenal?"

She was a little angry by my actions, I would have to get her something later, but this was a pressing matter. The divine fox unchained her, but kept the cage intact. She walked through the cage and pressed her white palm to the elf's forehead.

She concentrated or a while, until a frown appeared on her beautiful visage.

" It's genetic, I can't alter it."

" What does it mean?"

" She was cleansed, then implanted with stuffs on genetic level. You know, the magic was like virus, I can't cleanse it, but it can be deactivated if we have the control."

" Seriously? Then, she's gone?"

" No. That is, if we manage to secure it before her master, her boss, or even possibly, her creator realized she was out. If he does…"

" Self-destruct. Classic."

Tamamo nodded.

" Precisely. Now, it's either we forsake her, or try to locate the controller, beat her master, before he or she can activate the self-destruct sequence."

I face palmed and sighed. My first meeting after such a long time with a fellow orphan from the same orphanage twisted to this bizarre event? Seriously, the deity who governed all must've had some nasty taste of humor.

Looking at the elf, she was clueless. She was genetically altered, probably by alchemy or something, or just modern science. Probably she was a homunculus who got DNAs of various species implanted on her. Elves with both physical capabilities and magic were very rare, but combining genes made it possible.

Meanwhile…

A figure with black wings sat on an old-styled sofa, his finger twirling the glass filled with wine. Near him was an old, fat man wearing white priest robes and glasses, looking at some stacks of paper.

" Valper, is the preparation for the spell complete? There must be no failure in this operation."

The old man grinned maniacally as he took out a glowing blue crystal from his pocket.

" Don't worry. I've gathered enough elements to fuse those swords successfully. The result won't be as strong as the original Excalibur, but it'll cut those devils down with ease."

" Good, because I don't tolerate failures."

The black angel nudged at the tortured mess of 3 female fallen angels. Their wings were clipped, albeit not fully, but the process must've been mortifying.

" Freed already consumed enough to use the new sword. His capabilities will be our vanguard in holding off pests while we complete all preparations, in case something happens."

The black angel stood up and emptied his glass to his throat. His red eyes gained a crazy glint as he walked to the balcony and laughed hard.

" Prepare yourself… world. This time, I, Kokabiel, shall prove that the fallen angels are the mightiest race that exists! Yes, by becoming the only one, that is!"

Suddenly, a sharp cross with chains shot up, aiming to his throat. The angel stepped back and manifested a thick light lance. From below, a figure jumped and landed on the railings.

" You insolent…. How dare you!"

" I dare, Kokabiel. I have an information that will pique your interest… wanna hear?"

 **And that's it! Seriously, guys, I'm very sorry of this terribly late update. But, exams are done, and I can finally resume my stories. I hope this chapter is a little better than before, but I can't grade my own chapters.**

 **Leave the reviews on the box below. Thanks for reading!**


	7. Merry Go Round, Kuoh Version

**Sorry for the late update. I can't believe my file got erased and I had to write all over again… Yeah, stuffs happened too, and I was too pissed to write for a while. But, I got over that, for good. Fun fact, the first semester of university really sucked. I didn't even have time to sleep, much less write. Well, at least I've got a little break now.**

 **Highschool DxD is not mine.**

* * *

Hiiro POV

We, I meant Tamamo and me, were called by the bob-haired student council, or should I say Sona Sitri, the heiress of Sitri clan. Either my schools problems, for example, destroying the infirmary, sleeping in class… Or matters concerning the supernatural side.

I personally preferred the school stuffs.

" Good afternoon, Goddess Tamamo, and Bloodreaver-san…"

Awkward, right?

" Call me Hiiro, Sitri heiress. Using my family name is too much, and feels a little weird."

" Please cut the Goddess part. I'm not here as representative of Shinto now."

She just coughed at our reaction and reworded her greetings. She seemed a little too tense for school-related problems. She couldn't be getting cold feet about giving a cold-blooded mercenary some detention, could she?

Wait, somehow that sounded oddly possible.

No, that's stupid… Right? Besides, she's a successor for a freaking Devil clan.

" So, what did you call us here for, kaichou? Is it because I ruined the infirmary?"

" Nope, but—"

" Because I slept in almost all classes this week?"

" It is a problem, but—"

" Then, because I—"

*SMACK*

" Listen to her first, Hiiro."

Lesson of the day : Getting punched by a Goddess hurt. A lot.

Sona Sitri cleared her throat after suppressing a laugh. She put back her serious face, although the serious air around us had waned a lot compared to before.

" This is about our friend Kokabiel. If possible, I want both of you to help us to repel his assault and prevent whatever plan he has."

Her tone showed that she was practically pleading Tamamo and me to help them with Kokabiel and his goons. She even lowered her head down a little, begging earnestly.

" Sorry. I want to, but I might not be able to."

" I see…"

The one answering was not the STC president, but the redhead from ORC. Behind her were Roy Halphas and her peerage.

" If you're wondering, it's not because of I don't want trouble or anything. I just have another enemy here in Kuoh, and I'll be busy keeping them off my back."

" Oohh… And by them, who do you mean?"

My eyes sharpened and unconsciously, I gritted my teeth.

" The holy crusaders."

All of their eyes widened. Of course, how could they not? All devils who received proper tutoring must know, especially two heiresses from distinguished clans.

They were taught to fear that name.

Holy crusaders, considered as one of the strongest platoon squads from church's massive number of military strength. They were the arch-nemesis for everything under the banner of darkness and demonic beasts.

Each and every one of them had the power to slay Ultimate-class devils with relative ease, and the leader was said to be able to give Devil kings trouble.

" Yeah. This city… is going to be an arena for one all-out war of three HUGE factions if we're not careful. That's why I can't help you."

Both Rias and Sona slumped to the work chair and sofa respectively. Man, sometimes I envied them for being able to do that.

" But, what if they're working together?"

Roy Halphas, sometimes, you said the most outrageous things.

" What? It's weird, isn't it? Their coming was too in line with Kokabiel's agenda. I have a feeling there's a bigger plan than what we see here."

Sona, too, assumed a thinking position.

" As horrifying as that idea is, it's not impossible."

" Crusaders AND a fallen angel cadre… That's what I call messed up combo."

Only Sona and Saji commented on that idea because the others were too busy shivering from that image alone.

If that really happened, we'd get flattened for sure.

" L-Let's end it here for today…"

And so, we ended our war council there to stomach what horror awaited us in near future. None of us spoke of anything at all, until we heard an explosion from a park nearby.

Dude, couldn't you at least let us take a breath?

" I'm checking the house, Hiiro."

Tamamo went on separate way to check our place. It wasn't impossible for the crusaders to lose patience and launched an assault there. If possible, we'd rather not cause a panic inside Shinto pantheon's territory.

Her big boss might get mad, too.

I rushed to the lush forest near the park where the smoke was coming from. The others followed behind me, and were already prepared for possible battle. Of course, it meant deploying sacred gear and setting up barriers to avoid any unfortunate casualties from humans.

What we saw there was quite horrific to say the least. The self-proclaimed exorcist who claimed to know me laid there like a broken doll with her blood sprayed all over her body, painting her tight battle gear red. Luckily, she had none of her limbs removed, otherwise this scene would've been too much for teenagers, devil or not.

" This is…"

" Tsubaki, tend to her immediately, and take her to my mansion."

The vice-president of student council quickly grabbed her body and started applying first aid treatment to her before she could bite the dust. After that battle nun recovered enough to survive teleportation, she carried her away and disappeared on a magic circle.

" Aa~aah… I really enjoyed ravishing that nun's body~"

A maniacal voice took our attention instantly. Leaning to a tree was Freed, one of the rogue priests that actually attained high rank back in the days. He was too immersed at killing magical beasts and devils, he actually _loved_ the feeling of cutting them down to size. Eventually, he was exiled for slaughtering his own comrades trying to hold him back.

Some priest, huh?

" What do you want, damned exorcist? Just so you know, I have no qualms in cleaving someone like you in half."

" Ooh, scary, scary~ I just wanna let y'all know…"

A burst of wind blasted the whole forest, and a figure with ten black wings descended. With each flap of his wings, blasts of wind blew the leaves away.

" Hmph… That filthy crimson hair of yours reminds me of your brother, Rias Gremory… And Sitri woman, you're like the opposite of your sister."

" Fallen angel Kokabiel. For what do we owe this honor?"

Nice sarcasm, Gremory princess. He'd definitely feel that one. The fallen cadre chose to ignore her and look at me instead. His eyes scanned me from head to toe, as if judging what I actually had to offer.

" And that boy over there… I hear he's a royalty from demon clan? Rare indeed, but I have no interest on you. I imagine those stuck-up bastards of church would be, though."

" Stick your nose where it belongs, schmuck."

He raised one eyebrow in interest and grinned widely, showing rows of aligned white sharp canines. And here I thought fallen angel wasn't cannibal.

" Well, I've sent a surprise to your house, boy. I'm sure you'd like it."

His smirk grew even wider as he turned back to the devil heiresses and stretched out his arms.

" Tomorrow, the fallen angels will finally prove their superiority! That coward Azazel may have halted that in the previous Great War before, but once I restart it, with you both as the trigger, my dream will finally come true!"

And with that, he teleported away, along with Freed.

* * *

I returned home after having an emergency war council with both princesses. We just spun our already stressed out brains, and tested out stuffs we needed for our plan. Honestly, all of us needed rest for tomorrow.

If worst came to worst…. The last night of rest we'd have.

When I reached home, I saw the living room completely wrecked. Frowning, I checked for whatever clue of whatever caused my place to be thrashed. There was a trail of dark red liquid from below the sofa, up to Tamamo's bedroom. Just when I got inside, I saw a wisp of flame floating above her bed.

" What's this?"

I let the wisp fly to my open palm, and watched as it shone and formed words on thin air.

" I, Tamamo no Mae, hereby…"

The next words made me unable to change my expression, as they froze my heart and mind alike.

" …Release everything that binds me to you. From this moment on, I am naught but divine beast from the land of rising sun."

The flame got crushed to nothingness in my grip, and I made haste to the trap door on my room's ceiling.

" Ferris, what happened here?"

My acquaintance from my days in orphanage wriggled and sat up. She opened her eyes and looked at me intently.

" Around 2 hours ago, intrusion of a squad of armed men have been confirmed. Visual data is unavailable, however, audio recording has been committed to memory."

" Proceed. Tell me in details."

" Affirmative. After the intrusion, a brawl has happened. This brawl lasted for 30 minutes, until it was silent. Proceed to data analysis?"

" Permitted."

" Permission acquired. Abnormal magic readings detected when intruders barged in. Divine sealing being invoked is highly suspected."

I punched a crack on the concrete wall. Those good-for-nothing arrogant goons actually dared to use anti-divine magic on Tamamo? On HER?!

That's it. They're dead. I'd rip their bodies and send their pitiful souls to hell personally.

" Please let me help you retrieve miss Tamamo, so I request."

" Why? I remember her trapping you here last time."

" True. However, Miss Tamamo has given me more than adequate hospitality despite my status as a prisoner. As such, I am disturbed by the fact she is in danger."

" Huh… Is that so?"

" Affirmative. Just yesterday, she was producing red candies, and had me taste them. It was a great delicacy, truly wasted on a prisoner like me. She also never let me have insufficient rations to lower my bodily functions. I find her behavior admirable."

" You mean red bean paste. Well, Tamamo does love cooking. She loves having others enjoy her food, no matter who or what they are."

" I assume your lack of cooking skills to be quite a trouble for her."

" Yeah… I guess so…"

She must've noticed my change in tone, and looked away. At first, I thought she felt bad and didn't want to look me in the face, but then, I noticed her attention was set on the window beside her cage.

Just with a glance, I could see a clear dark blue sky filled with stars, and the moon shining proudly between them.

" Recollecting data from previous conversation with subject Tamamo… She mentioned that she favors this clear night sky because of you."

" Well, she does love strolling at night to ease her mood."

" Affirmative. I couldn't, and still cannot comprehend why Miss Tamamo places so much affection in you."

" Ouch."

" However, she does, and that's final. Even though you're just a demon brute."

" Oi, elf… What have I done wrong to you? Except for beating you black and blue because you tried to murder me, that is."

She didn't even reply, and just stared at me like I was some kind of exhibition item.

" Question denied. It is not my interest to provide you answers."

" Hey, you little…"

I just sighed and refrained from being a child for once. As expected, I was instinctively unable to feel completely safe and secured now. I opened the trap door and returned to my room to rest and prepare for the next day.

Now, time to meet my bed and pillow.

However, I just couldn't fall asleep like usual. I kept on thinking what would actually work in our favor tomorrow. To think a Fallen angel cadre would appear along with platoons or Crusaders… Even I couldn't joke about that.

" Well, let's just leave tomorrow's problems at it and sleep…"

I finally gave in to my heavy eyes and drifted to the land of dreams.

* * *

The weather didn't really match what we were facing. To think it was nice and sunny despite our gloomy mood… Perhaps the rumor about people's emotions affected weather was a fluke, after all.

But, good mood was one of the least things I needed today. What were really vital today were cool head, luck, and hopefully, a miracle. Just as I reached the school, it was already devoid from any kind of activities. Those devils didn't exactly hold back in using their authority. The whole area 1 km from Kuoh academy was closed and empty.

" Ah, Hiiro-san, you've come."

Sona Sitri was supervising the virtual circle to create a barrier. Like placing charms on spots, or even putting her familiar to assist. Since the Gremory house would act as spearhead, it was only natural that Sitri house became the support, since most of them were adept as supporting attackers from the rear.

She glanced behind me and fixed her glasses.

" By the way, Hiiro-san, where is Tamamo-sama?"

I swallowed a bitter pill and tried to hide my expression, but the Sitri's heiress' eyes were too sharp for me.

" She… can't be here."

Her eyes softened, and she let out a brief sigh. Then, she turned around.

" I see. Could you greet her for me when you meet her again?"

She walked away to proceed with her task, and to end the discussion right there. Honestly, I was quite thankful for that. Not long after that, I went to the ORC room and met the rest of the team.

" Intruder sighted. Requesting immediate back-up."

"Oi. Both the cage AND the trap door were destroyed, so I thought what the hell was going on, and you're here?"

It was the truth. I woke up and went to the bathroom for a wash, but Tamamo's fire magic cage had been dispelled somehow. Even if she were to exert every ounce of her power, she wouldn't even be able to dent the barrier, especially with the chains.

" I rebooted in the morning to find its condition just as you described."

" Seriously?"

The only explanation was the nature of divine magic. The magic immortals and divine beings used were based on their influence. The less their influence on the magic, the weaker they'd become. It was a power centered on belief and mass, and created to be practically indestructible, as long as they had power.

Just how the hell did they deplete her strength so much that she had none left to spend on the barrier?

" Umm… Sorry to interrupt, but the plans…"

Rias tried to butt in our conversation, and was met by two pairs of cold orbs. She gasped, yet steeled her resolve to speak her mind.

" *cough* So, as we discussed yesterday…"

" Dude, your eyes are scary."

I responded to the Halphas clan's son's retort by pulling out my phone and turned on the 360 camera. Oh look, my eyes looked like donuts. Both my eyes had dark hue around them, making me almost look like an emo.

" Rather than my raccoon eyes, this takes priority, Roy. So, Gremory heiress, what is it that you were about to say?"

I shrugged his comment and simply turned my attention back to the Gremory heiress. She gasped once, then coughed a few times to get everyone's attention again. Was I really that scary for her to actually gasp?

" Let's review the plan from the beginning. Sona and I will hold the fort and try to keep Kokabiel contained here, in Kuoh academy. Meanwhile, you and some of us will pick on the church's army one by one, to cut off Kokabiel's means of reinforcements. And we'll somehow try to weaken Kokabiel as much as possible, or somehow take him down if that's even possible."

The situation looked grim, for all of us. Defeat Kokabiel? They'd be lucky if they could even survive! However, it seemed the Gremory devil was painfully aware of how miniscule their chances actually were.

" Look, um, not to offend you two, but you both will have better shot at somehow fleeing from here back to the demon world."

Honestly, I had thought this over and over again. They were devil princesses from distinguished families, with devil leaders backing them. If they felt so inclined, running away from here would certainly be more possible mission that facing Kokabiel, church, and their goons, AND protecting the city while they were at it.

They frowned for a while, sighed, and looked at me with serious look.

" It is possible for Kokabiel to see through that kind of breach and take it upon himself to guard the barrier himself. His target has been us from the beginning, so I doubt he'd let us move an inch from his eyes."

Sona fixed her glasses, and Rias followed her explanation.

" Besides, this territory is entrusted to us, by our siblings, to be nurtured. We have a duty to make this place prosper, and protect it, should we need be. How can we tuck tails and flee back to the Underworld, bringing shame to our families and devil society as a whole?"

I laughed at their reason, part of it because of their naivety. Even so, I just couldn't discard their naïve thinking as stupidity. I couldn't exactly call it honorable too, though.

" Well, they say pride is one of the deadly sins… And you ARE devils…"

They just giggled at my response. Cheeky.

* * *

Kuoh wasn't exactly a big town. However, it had a lot of abandoned buildings here and there, claimed by people to be 'haunted'. As expected from a town filled with supernaturals. All it took was some people getting eaten inside a factory by stray devils, and the building would turn into a dangerous place everyone avoided.

And places like that were exactly the ones I needed right now.

" Should it be like this?"

" Perfect, be sure to memorize it too, though. We don't wanna get hanged by our own traps."

" True… Even with devil standards, these kinds of traps are nasty."

We all placed traps on the buildings, and very crazy ones to boot. Stuff like land mines, pitfall with kitchen knives below, the hanging rope thing that ensnared the neck instead off foot. I mean, why hesitate to make killing stuffs when the other side wouldn't think twice to snuff the life out of all of us.

So, we spared no effort and went full throttle, and I had to say, a devil and elf assassin had a bunch of interesting ideas.

Did I mention living spiky vines hidden behind the curtains that would choke the guy touching it to death? That was her idea. For Roy, he stuffed a heavy chair above the ceiling that would crush bones when someone walked below it.

" These will make nice makeshift weapons. Stuff one in your pockets."

Roy threw several kitchen knives and a box cutter to us, and pocketed some himself. Perhaps even devils wouldn't be given weapons right off the bat, huh? But honestly, I had more knives and weapons inside Alduin's storage. All dragons had treasuries somewhere, but his was literally littered with spoils from war and expeditions. When war ended, he was the one that took care of most left-out weapons in the battlefield.

Stuffs which I had access to, if only he weren't as stingy as Donald duck's uncle.

I just took them and stored them away in my pocket dimension. I didn't really feel like pocketing weapons now.

" Ten people sighted. All of them are wearing holy armaments… Permission to engage?"

" Lure them in."

" Affirmative."

She drew her bow, and literally jumped off from the balcony while shooting arrows at those priests. Now, that might sound badass and all, but with the priests unsheathing all kinds of weapons from their robes, it was obvious they were expecting us.

Her arrows nailed the big shield, turning it to a pin cushion.

" What the hell?"

Even for bystanders, that was some weird sight. It was obvious that Ferris had launched a volley of arrows at _all_ of them, yet everything she fired was nailed to that one shield. Well, to be fair, that was a huge tower shield with a red crucifix emblem in the middle, but still weird.

It was like her arrows were drawn to that shield.

" Enough, lure them in!"

She received my command via telepathy, and circled around the complex before entering the house again from the back door.

Her nimble movements should've left them in the dust, but look at them, keeping up with her just like that. If their base agility were on par with hers, it might be difficult to actually fool them into the traps. I suspected their reflexes were at least good enough to pluck a buzzing fly from the air easily.

" What's next?"

" Let's see…"

Both of us males waited, and I walked to the back door. I glanced at the pitfall trap right in front of the door, covered by small mat.

5…

4…

3…

*BOOMM!*

Now that's what I'd call dramatic entrance. Geez, rude guys didn't even let ME do dramatic stuffs for a change. Now, Ferris successfully jumped over the mat and… the guy, out of reflex, tried as well.

Keyword, tried.

I clotheslined one in the front door, effectively dumping him down to the pit beneath the mat. He fell down there screaming, but surprisingly, didn't die. He skidded down with his limbs on the sides to prevent the objects below to impale him.

" Great. Now what?"

" We drop the boot."

Taking advantage of the stunned warriors, Roy kicked the wall a few times. Suddenly, a freaking sofa fell from the second floor, straight into the hole. Well, the hole was big, and the sofa got in smoothly, smashing the man's face in.

"…Or sofa, whichever works, really."

" And we run."

" Of course."

He answered casually and turned tails quickly. I, too, followed his lead and ran away. Honestly, the rest of the squad was too stunned to take action. How in the world could a highly trained squad get stunned like this? Hadn't they ever gotten trapped like this, at least once before?

It was strange. It was too easy.

Even the last guy I fought before was FAR stronger than this, and I was pretty sure he didn't go full-throttle yet. Were they grunts dispatched due to lack of numbers? Or maybe the church actually didn't send anyone but that one guy?

" Dude, snap out of it!"

" Heh?"

" You almost slammed to pole twice! Either you've gotta start wearing contacts or you should get your head checked, I don't know. But pay attention when we're being chased!"

Both Ferris and Roy were running near me, as we free-ran across the city to somehow shake off our pursuers. Actually, we spent the morning making several safe-houses with traps and safety measures for resting. All of them were booby trapped, and only us knew what and where the traps were.

Heck, if they wanted all their members come out unscathed, they'd better take the long road outside than running inside the house like we did.

….

By the way, they didn't take the long road. They just bolted in and tried following our route, but the traps laid beforehand captured about 3 or 4 of them, reducing their numbers to nearly half.

This squad, at least. I had no idea how many people after my head today.

" Oh, man, they're persistent. Run like the wi—"

As Roy blurted out lines from anime, I already left him behind by exerting more power to my legs. Ferris also didn't hesitate to ignore him and just pick up her pace. He threw his arms in frustration and ran faster.

With run, I meant free-running in complicated routes and uneven ground like gymnastics. I jumped over a small wall, and kept on running. We stopped at the entrance of a park near the academy.

I noticed another batch of people coming, and I shoved my companions to bushes nearby.

" Hey, they're just normal people! Relax—"

" The Gremory princess had evacuated every single humans from this area. They're not supposed to be here."

I cut Roy's ramblings short. His carefree attitude turned serious instantly, and he eyed those newcomers with calculating eyes. Heck, his arms even started growing scales as signs of his metamorphosis magic.

I turned my attention to the bunch of guys that smelled human. Wait, there's something wrong with that guy with brown hair… Something about him felt… different. There was something in him, but I wasn't sure what.

" _Alduin, he smells different. What is he?"_

{I'd say he has a beast sealed inside his body, most likely as sacred gear. As for which, I was locked long enough to not catch up trends.}

" _So you're saying you're an outdated old geezer?"_

{ My age far surpasses most living species, but I'd say I'm not that old, just outdated. Better yet, how about observing those humans there?}

I mentally agreed and simply went back to scouting. They hadn't made any move besides gathering up and talking freely for now…

Wait, what's with this chill on my back...

Out of reflex, my hands reached whichever part of their body and forced them to roll aside. And I was right. A crater replaced the ground we were on just now.

" Tch! He dodged that?! Seriously?!"

" Hey, your cloaking is down!"

Behind me were two men, one with a silver coronet on his head, another with a freaking bazooka, smoking from that shot earlier. I wasted no time and stabbed one knife to the bazooka guy's leg, and punched his chin. Then, in one swift move, I slammed my palm to the other goon's neck, and sent out a jolt strong enough to make him unconscious.

So they noticed us from the start, and left the assassination to these two!

" Ferris!"

" Affirmative."

She sent out a barrage of arrows to the sky that rained upon the rest of the squad. One of them brought out a yo-yo that had some sort of force field around it and spun it to deflect every single one of Ferris' arrows.

However, it wasn't like they came out completely woundless.

{ Partner, now's not the time to hesitate! Use your blood magic and end this here and now!}

My sidekick literally commanded me to use my treasured magic a.k.a blood magic to deal with humans.

" But, Alduin, blood magic is—"

{You're hesitating here, but they won't think twice of taking your head. So you'd better shove thinking down the sewer and start fighting!}

As hesitant as I was to killing humans, but Alduin was right. There was no time for hesitation. But, from their bearing, I'd imagine they weren't exactly church's goons. Most likely… They were also like the Gremory knight, and acted as impromptu force just in case. It was hard to believe… To think an experimental lab existed so near…

And with so many subjects to boot.

It was stupid, but I found myself unable to just kill them off as unlucky fodders that stood in my way. After years of slaughtering people that came to attack me, this sudden hurdle was thrown right at the worst timing ever.

" _Alduin… Can I face them without blood magic?"_

{You can. But, it risks of those pesky soldiers finding you here, and eventually overwhelming you.}

" Well, I'll use magic, at least."

My body started releasing sparks of lightning. Ferris already nocked an arrow, and Roy's body had green scales all over. The tension was high, as the two sides were alert, and ready to go.

Including the ones that tried to blast me before, ten enemies. One with yoyo capable of erecting force field, an explosive-type sacred gear, while the others were unknown.

" Ferris, you provide support. Roy…"

I suddenly released a bolt of lightning to the enemies, which the yo-yo wielding guy deflected with a simple swing.

" Be sure to keep up!"

The scaled devil's forehead had veins popping all over, and he went on a berserk. Heh, dude's too hot-blooded for his own good.

His heavy scale-clad fist landed on the yoyo that just deflected my lightning, and was used to defend against the punch. But, the sheer force of that literally blew away him aside. With their shield temporarily out of the way, we could finish off what's behind.

The bazooka was aimed from about 4 meters away, and shot to me. Just before I zapped it to explode, the projectile was shot down by 10 arrows instantly. Its explosion didn't even harm my clothes. I once again felt a chill on my nape and coated my whole body with lightning. A knife scraped my side, but the electric counter was too much for the assailant to handle.

He fell down, already golden fried perfectly.

Meanwhile, Roy fought a hard battle of 3 vs 1. He was up against one person with blades jutting out of his limbs, someone with hands that could change to claws, and another one with sacred gear I couldn't identify.

It was weird how she could dodge all of Roy's blows with movements that sloppy, though.

" Blow away, freak!"

Again, the guy with bazooka shot explosive rounds at me. This time, he didn't hold back and activated something a bazooka shouldn't have.

Rapid fire.

And my escape routes were blocked by the rest of them. They were already assuming battle stances, and the yo-yo guy had gotten up already.

When I was about to activate blut vene, a barrage of arrows mowed down those missiles and made the explode mid-air. Then, a power shot through broke the enemies' formation, letting me break through.

Just for a while, I was able to regain my composure, but the enemies didn't hesitate to strike me down on spot. My instincts urged me to dodge two missiles again, and more.

" What's going on with you?! Fight, goddamnit!"

There was no such thing in this world as beautiful as ideals.

I knew that, and I'd been acting for so long in that. Killing assassins and hunters that came to smite me, or those schmucks with overgrown heads was daily thing for me. Why the hell was I hesitating now?!

I gritted my teeth and summoned my usual broad gun-sword.

" DIEE!"

Someone with two blazing knuckles screamed that near my ear, and swung his fist down in a flaming arc. Damn, that flame would definitely hurt if it hit.

Not that it would, though.

" Shut up."

I tilted a little, and smashed my fist to his solar plexus, earning a wonderful crack from him. He spat a blob of blood, and fell down unconscious.

Stepping over his body, my hand reached for the sword I put down to punch that bastard to oblivion. Then, I went straight to the one with bladed protrusions, and shattered all blades on his arm with a single slash. Roy took his shock as a chance, and landed a solid punch amidst the confusion. The enemy flew off a couple meters, but even Roy's heavy fist wasn't quite enough to incapacitate him. He actually armored his head with blades, fashioning a spiky make-shift helmet.

" Damn!"

Even his scaly arm bled profusely when he purposely punched a spiked helmet made of steel. He closed his eyes for a second, losing to the pain on his knuckles. In that instant, a huge claw swooped in and smashed to his torso. And I, once again, had a bunch of missiles ready to blast me to pieces.

Looks like Ferris was too busy fending off her attackers to provide backup… They did outnumber us, and to be honest, these sacred gears were a lot of drag. Those things responded to its user's wishes and acted accordingly. Depending on the wielder and its compatibility, it could reach terrifying level of power.

Especially, those Longinus endowed with legendary beasts and broken power… I didn't even want to imagine something like that.

My left arm moved to block the claw that just sent Roy flying, while my right swung the heavy sword on a wide arc, sending out rapid shots of magic bullets from the blade's muzzle tip to deflect the incoming missiles. Then, I ducked and slammed the pommel of my sword to the guy's stomach. When he curled down holding his stomach, I elbowed his head down to the ground.

In that pace, I took down the enemies one by one. Those holding down Ferris, those who tried to finish off Roy, or those that tried charging me head on, they were either baked, or planted like radishes. Hey, at least I just broke 10 or 20 bones, not ALL of them.

" You're… next."

I pointed at the last batch of humans that weren't foolish enough to charge blindly like their pals. Some of them flinched, but some still kept their calm. Honestly, I'd though they'd be losing heads in panic, but it looked like this batch was the senior here.

Instead of attacking blindly like their comrades, they chose to arm themselves with their respective weapons.

However, the brown boy really answered my expectations.

 **{Boost!}**

Holy shit, here comes the Longinus, **[Boosted Gear].** What the hell was a freaking God-slaying weapon doing in a backwater town like this? In the hand of a human that had practically got under the devils' noses AND my network, no less.

And… He'd already started boosting. I had my focus on him, because of that I noticed long blond hair flowing from someone behind him. Wait, shouldn't that be Rias' healer bishop, Asia Argento? How in the world?

She was healing several people nearby the safe zone, behind the red dragon.

" Asia! What the heck are you doing helping Kokabiel?!"

I shouted from this side. Well, that was a given. While her master was away fighting Kokabiel, she was here, giving a hand to enemy's reinforcements. I was already pissed off, and honestly, giving the enemies a universal healer was the last thing I'd do.

The brown haired young man glanced at her, and Asia spoke to him. I could only catch him speaking, "what is he talking about?" or something like that, I guess.

Try listening to whispers while getting attacked by senior sacred gear users, all assaulting me at once. Okay, 5 people, one with sensory-type sacred gears, since she practically dodged nearly all my strikes as if she knew what I'd do next. One with flaming bow that shot phoenix-shaped projectiles, one with strings coming out from various parts of his body, and one with some kind of jar, and finally, one with the exact same gear with the guy I just punched to dreamland.

" Attack!"

They all struck fast with their respective powers. Projectiles flew from all directions, like they materialized from thin air. While I was busy avoiding all those dangerous looking projectiles, the close ranged ones closing the distance fast with long steps. I side-stepped to dodge one close stab from a blade protrusion, and ducked a bundle of almost invisible strings that sliced a boulder behind me to ribbons.

Oh, damn. Since when did bows have rapid fire feature?

I propelled my body back to lengthen the distance instantly. I stumbled upon the stones that got cut by the strings earlier. Damn, what's with that purple smoke coming out from it? And looking closer, that stone freaking melted. The purple liquid was one thing I didn't want touching my skin.

Then, I had electricity run inside my nerve system to accelerate myself and dashed straight to in front of them. My speed far surpassed their perception, but somehow only one of them was too late to escape my taser grasp. Well, one cooked, four to go. At least I'd disabled their ranged shooter.

" Damn!"

At least, I was lucky enough that the boosted gear user hadn't joined the fray yet. He was still conflicted about what Asia told him, perhaps. I was in a close ranged fight with the girl with the string weaver, and honestly, wasn't doing very well with it. This wasn't exactly a slugfest, instead, more of her dodging my fists like a ballerina while trying to slice me up with those wicked strings of hers.

Kinda reminded you of the evil pirate warlord from O*e P***e, right?

" Kuh!"

Even Roy, who tried sneaking behind her was injured the moment he stepped into the fray. Ferris quickly stopped him from getting injured further by others, but that attempt cost her a few shallow cuts and bruises. She landed a couple meters away, her genetically modified body already mending itself without break.

I'd always thought so, but her body was lithe and slim. It was built for anything but raw physical strength. One punch or slash, and she'd get fatal injury. To be honest, with this kind of lightweight body, I wondered how she'd survived the experiments and remodeling done on her body.

Well, her closing wounds answered my question.

Meanwhile, the blade guy dipped his steel in the jar. He pulled it out, fully coated by the same slimy purple goo that melted the stone before. Poison-type sacred gear, huh?

I dodged just in time when a steel claw nearly separated me from my head. This time, he went all wolverine style, and pounced at me. Funny dude got stomped in the process. Not wanting to drag this fight too long, I moved to chop the back of his neck.

Taking a page from his fallen comrade's book, blades jutted out from all over his body, ready to skewer me. I was one second too late deploying my blut vene, and those steel constructs stabbed into my flesh. Not too deep, but not that shallow either.

" Got you."

He was smirking when I downed the arms shielding my face.

What a coincidence.

I was smirking too.

" No, I got _you_."

Fun fact, people don't poke an iron cord to electric sockets. Especially with the electricity was on full throttle.

" Damn…. You…"

He fell down with a bland thud, and me bleeding over a few places. Luckily, the assault had stopped, with only the Red dragon Emperor, Asia, and the poison guy left. Technically, the Doflamingo impostor was still going strong, but Roy and Ferris could take care of her by themselves.

" Healer, your King's in the Academy, and she needs your help quick. I don't know about your deal with the Red Dragon Emperor, but solve it fast."

Just as I said that, the claw person had stirred awake and looked at Asia with accusing eyes.

" Heal me, you useless heretic witch! Be fast!"

" Y-Yes! Be right there!"

The brown boy grabbed Asia's shoulder, effectively stopping her from taking a step further. He looked at me in the eyes, and asked.

" Is she safe there?"

" What?"

" Will she be safe with Gregory devils?"

Pfft…

I had to use my all to stop my sudden urge to laugh.

" Hehe— If you say being with them is safe, then safer than you think."

I nudged at the fallen schmucks that just got p*wned. The claw guy kept on screaming at Asia, me, and the brown boy, but finally, he made a choice.

The gauntlet smashed against his face, busting him to the lala-land once again.

" I'll bring her there myself."

He took Gremory's bishop's hand, still boosting.

" What was that all about?"

Roy popped his sore joints from all the fighting, and Ferris with some drops of blood on her clothes. Man, good thing Gremory princess shut this area down yesterday. I had a feeling what was going on here would definitely traumatize most pedestrians.

Cue the muffled moans from a tied up female Doflamingo, with an arrow nailing the strings to nearby hydrant.

" Well, let's move before those priests get a lucky shot and find us here."

I was just about to turn around and exit from the park when I heard screams from several battle priests running over.

" You just HAD to jinx it, eh, Roy?"

" Roy Halphas has been inserted in the list, codename 'Idiot'."

" Floor it, guys!"

We all didn't waste time to turn tails and escaped the park. I was honestly tempted to leave a note with evil smiley, read '25 Minutes Too Late', just like from the lyrics from this awesome band.

Alas, I didn't bring pen and paper with me.

Once again, we were back on the streets, our pursuers right behind our backs. Now, we couldn't exactly be called slow, and we all had our share of physical training, and body manipulation, especially those dragon legs Roy conjured. But, those priests had completed training regiments more insane than the army's, or so I was told. Moreover, there were a lot of ways to increase one's physical capabilities far beyond the limits.

There's living proof right beside me.

Holy crap, that one with golden robe had a really nasty pack on his back. I could feel its hostility on my skin, feeling the kind of tingle when a roller coaster dived down after a long ascend, without the thrill.

It seemed both of them also understood the item that practically shrieked 'DANGER!' on his back and quickened their pace. We had to go to our next safe house and trap them again. Oh man, why couldn't I get some peace and quiet?

* * *

 **Please leave review on the box below. Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chase

**Sorry I've been idle for too long. Several things happened, and I was too swept in to write. But, I'm back. Hopefully you guys still remember me, and for new readers, hello and please enjoy my story.**

 **Been a while since I wrote this, but DxD is not mine.**

* * *

To be honest, I came to Kuoh because I knew the territory was in protection of two devil clans. What's the chance of a town with two clans backing them getting attacked? But, what occurred was the opposite of what I wanted. Peace and quiet... as if.

It's like they said. Life gives you lemons.

My original intention was that. Now, it changed. I did this to make sure Tamamo was safe, and her kidnappers pay dearly. It might be my dragon instinct, but I felt like all sorts of honor and chivalry could go to hell now. All I cared for was to get this done as quickly, effectively, and painfully for them. However, she was the first priority. I couldn't waste time.

Parkouring above the buildings, I shook off the followers while letting the traps whittle their numbers bit by bit. Ferris, Roy, and I had laid enough trap to potentionally make a military army suspend operations. And it seemed like they weren't that smart. Should've been easy prey, that's what I thought.

" Warning. Distance between us and hostiles have dwindled to least acceptable level."

" I know! Geez, looks like some real holy knights got mixed in to those goons there..."

Roy sliced down a lamp pole with his claws and let it fall to at least hinder them, but instead the leader grabbed on and launched it like a javelin. We split up briefly just to dodge that violent throw.

It wheezed past us and embeddd itself on a concrete wall. A good stepping stone.

" Ferris, can you shoot down at least 2 more from above that roof?"

" My analysis has stated about 50% chance."

" Good enough. Roy, we're taking down the rest of them."

Like a gymnast, Ferris flipped over the 3 meters wall, and landed on the roof. No stopping there, she aimed her bow and shot with terrifying precision, quickly decimating two of the priests before they could scream.

Taking the element of surprise, both of us turned around. However, the spearhead was more skilled than the ones behind. He jumped over my slash and stopped Roy's bestial claw without any issue.

" Che!"

I stopped the slash midway and aimed the muzzle of the gun at the guys behind. A loud bang with smokes and enchanted shotgun round were expelled, painting a priest with his own blood. He choked and fell to his knees before succumbing.

The priest above me grabbed my hair, jerked my head up, and aimed a knife at my throat.

I had to fall down to avoid that, but I wasn't his real target. He jumped off and leaped to Ferris quickly. Due to my experience as a hitman that didn't let preys escape, I reached over my belt and pulled out a handgun. Several rounds bounced off his robe. That robe must've been enhanced to become like armor, what a nuisance.

Normal POV

Rias Gremory didn't expect her sophomore life would involve a major incident like this. In this moment, the town she was governing with her childhood friend beside her was being invaded by a ten winged fallen angel cadre and a bunch of stray priests, and a team of holy crusaders from church.

As of now, she was trying to bid time. A second might look puny, but for them, it could mean the difference of life and death. She wasn't stupid. She knew there was no hope nor chance of winning against them, but she had to try. At the very least, boosting everyone's morale meant getting up survival chance.

" For what do I owe your presence, fallen cadre Kokabiel?"

Assuming her usual haughty demeanor, she confronted the fallen angel. His impish face smirked evilly at the Gremory princess as he looked down from his floating pure gold throne about 10 meters above.

She flipped her hair and put her hand on her shapely waist, as if challenging him to go down from there. She'd always been confident, it was one of her defining traits. Luckily, instead of getting angry from her sarcasm, Kokabiel laughed and snapped his fingers. Several magic circles appeared, spitting out flames.

" Let's play a game, devil princesses. We'll see how long you can survive against the souvenirs I personally brought from your home."

The fire died out, and several huge dogs with three heads emerged. Every heads had a red glowing choker, and a set of pencil sharp teeth with impressive size. What's more, each of them could breathe fire and poison.

" Then again, you ARE princesses of Underworld. See that you amuse me."

He smirked and laid back, as the five dogs of Underworld roared. Immeadiately, both peerages readied their means of combat, and charged forward.

Konekowas capable of bashing and matching the dogs in terms of strength, but her strikes were never sharp enough to land a decisive blow. Akeno and Rias were both mages, and busy keeping the fire and poison from killing the melee fighters and occasionally launching a thunderbolt or two.

Tsubaki Shinra, the vice-president of student council slashed one of them, drawing blood from its snout. But, the other heads spewed flames hot enough to completely incinerate her to the bones.

" Mirror alice."

She spun her glaive, conjuring a crystal like shield that absorbed the flames, and released it at doublethe intensity. The dog whined at its burned furry heads, and skittered back before the flame reached its body.

The one and only queen of Sona Sitri, hailing from exorcist family.

" Akeno! Sona!"

Rias floated and sent out a magic circle. Understanding what the magic was meant to do, both of them unleaashed their respective magic power, one shaped like a water serpent, another a huge thunderbolt. Combined with Rias' magic circle, it fused and became electric water dragon big enough completely engulf two of those dogs in one shot.

Like magnifying glass, the magic circle amplified its size and intensity.

The water dragon struck two of them hard, knocking them down and dousing them in electricity at the same time. Those beasts howled in pain, as their muscles and nerve system burnt to oblivion. The pressure was hard enough, but the electricity inside destroyed them. Falling down with blood from their snouts, they were no more than carcasses.

They managed to defeat two of them, but the remaining three started to push the others back. Save from Koneko and Tsubaki, no one there had enough to inflict deep wound on the beasts. All they could do was support the main guns to land a clean blow, and that was not enough.

As for the clean blows, they managed to create scratches and bruises on their bodies.

Saji Genshirou could only stop them to make their strikes go through. The others healed the fighters.

Slowly, the devils were being pushed back. Their stamina was limited, and they couldn't go on like this forever. The pressure was on them, and soon, they might not be able to put up resistance.

" The fusion is finally complete!"

A mad stray bishop laughed maniacally, as four holy swords combined into one. Holy energy swept the whole academy, and the sword shone brightly. Kokabiel, however, smirked and nudged at Freed.

" A little soon, but no matter. Use that sword to hasten their demise."

" HAHAHAHAH! Aye, aye, boss. Damn, isn't he the best? I can't stand his bossiness, but thanks to him, I can slice and dice you filthy devils with this new and sparkling exca-chaan!"

Freed leapt forth and snatched the excalibur. His crazed grin was horror enough, but he added some lickity-licking the blade without fear his tongue might get sliced.

" Hyaaaaahhh!"

" Bfuuuhhh..."

Freed's wish really came true. He sliced his own tongue.

Kiba, literally, kneed him in the face while his tongue was still out. The poor guy was spitting out blood and curses at the blond knight right now.

" Screw you, asshole!"

Kiba had no time nor will to care, as he stabbed his sword to the ground and halted one dog from mauling Tsubaki Shinra with blades erupting from below. He then walked to her side and helped her stand. The cerberus had no time to howl for its wounded legs, because Xenovia had already bisected it in half.

While Freed was too busy mourning for his bleeding, Kiba and Xenovia already stabbed the other Cerberus in the head. Both of their corpses burned down to ashes on contact with Xenovia's holy armamant.

" Are you okay, Shinra-san?"

He went back to her and carried her away from the battlefield. Her face suddenly adopted a massive blush, and she turned to avoid eye contact.

" Yes... Thank you, Yuuto-kun."

He put her near Sona, and turned to his King.

" Buchou... I—"

She simply hugged her knight, and there was no need for words. That simple exchange was more than enough to convey her feelings.

" Never do that again, you hear me?"

" Yes."

His face, free from dark and dull look he'd had for past few days, finally showed some spark of life and determination. He unsheathed his original blade, the Holy Eraser, instead of his strongest one to show that.

" A little late, perhaps, but I suspect our agreement is still in effect, Knight of Gremory?"

" You okay with wrecking that?"

Xenovia narrowed her eyes at the crazed priest wielding the combined holy sword.

" That blade is no longer sacred. Now, it's nothing but an abomination. If anything, I'll just collect the scraps to be reforged later on."

" Fine by me."

Kiba and Xenovia took their respective stance. For good measures, Kiba also made a bunch of swords nearby, as his swords would most likely shatter when clashing against that holy sword.

* * *

Hiiro was a fan of lightning magic. Aside from blood, lightning was his most used, most powerful type of magic. But, blood magic would put too much strain, and lead to him being anemic...

*SLICE!*

Ducking to avoid decapitation, he touched his opponent's feet and sent a deadly shock, enough to burn his flesh. Then, he threw the unconscious one to his friend behind him, catching him off guard. Roy took that chance and landed a vicious kick at the enemy's neck, downing another.

The element of surprise gave Hiiro and his team great advantage. Just by having their superior away, they were scattered and unable to retaliate much. That was the sole weakness of extremely centered team, or at least the traditional one.

Heavy reliance on leader.

" Ferris!"

As expected of the holy knight, he pushed her back. Luckily, she was able to distract him enough that her teammates could swiftly dispose of the underlings. Relying on her bow to make sure he couldn't get close and playing smart granted them time. Even now, she and the holy knight played a deadly tag, like mouse running away from a cat.

However, it was clear that she'd lose the battle eventually. Her breath was ragged, and her movements became sloppier, while the knight became more accustomed to her tendencies and reflex.

Of course, if he didn't count two devilish males creeping up from behind.

Just as the priest finally caught her with a holy-powered rope and dragged her by feet, Hiiro launched a blast of electricity to his back. Stunned for a while, he was open to Roy's beastly fist that socked his side, knocking him away from the elf.

" Are you okay?"

Hiiro pulled her up, and noticed she was limping on one foot. The rope tied and burned the stocking and her skin, while the pressure bruised her ankle. She was barely able to stand, and her stamina was on its limit. As heartless as he was, he couldn't let someone he knew from childhood go on like this.

Jumping down from the roof, he brought Ferris down along with him, and entrusted her to Roy.

" Thanks you two, but I'll take it from here. Could you get her to safety?"

" Objection. I, still can be of use. Please, let me help more."

He gritted his teeth at her determination, but then smiled. She'd grown fond of Tamamo, despite her status as prisoner and her short time knowing her. But, she was injured, and further involvement in this might add more fatal ones. Plus, if her master got wind of this somehow, it wouldn't end well.

Worst case, he might get another batch of troublesome scums coming again.

" Roy, get her to safety, or better yet, go to the academy. Gremory princess will need more help, and there's no safer place."

" You sure you'll be okay?"

" Yep. No problem."

He contemplated for a while, but he finally complied to his friend's whimsical request. He carried her on his back and lightly punched Hiiro's chest.

" Don't die."

The guy chuckled and responded in kind.

" Yeah. You too."

Not wanting to waste any more time, Hiiro separated himself, and headed straight to the location with the highest possibily. The outside forces were already scattered enough, it was time to strike its head down.

Hiiro started taking out his weapons, and strapped them to his body. His normal shotgun blade, and two handguns with enchanted bullets. He put those in the holsters, along with several magazines in pockets.

Wearing two grey fingerless gloves to avoid frictions, he started dashing towards the rather avoided area in Kuoh town. It was one of the places most people avoid aside from the abandoned church on the edge of this city.

Well, apparently, there was rumor about human experimentation here, backed by military and yakuza gangs from the World War. Apparently, there was a lab that contained what remained of super soldiers from there. Sometimes in the past, people could hear cries and screams from its direction, and became too afraid to approach.

The glass door slid open, revealing a corridor resembling a hospital's.

However, that was only the surface. What was inside its basement was much less beautiful than that.

The underground facility created to create super soldiers capable of bringing down an entire army alone, with uniquely modified attributes. This was the only place which had adequate equipment to contain a divine being without being scorched to ashes. Hiiro exited the lift, and opened the emergency stairs, but descended instead of going up.

He finally found her.

Tamamo with her fox ears and tails out was suspended inside some kind of slime, with her limbs restrained by black chains. He could see her wrists blackening, signs from slight miasma corruption. That sight was infuriating. Just seeing that made him want to tear apart whoever dared to place her there.

Unlike his usual rash and headstrong attitude, he'd been extremely calm. Because of that, he was able to enter undetected by the guards placed here. His hand moved forward, grabbing the neck of an unsuspecting priest, and crushed his windpipe without letting him make so much as a whimper.

Just like that, he disposed of the remaining two guards with one headshot each, and went to reach the container. Just before he could put down the power and free her, a chain wrapped up his elbow, and dragged him away.

" Well, well. It seems there's a rat here."

Hiiro skidded over the floor to slow, and yanked his arm along with the guy attached to the end. Now it was his turn to kiss the floor, and pulled down. Before he could have fun with that, another one kneed him in the face and flipped away in a manner that'd make most gymnast jealous.

Spewing out blood and one tooth, Hiiro countered with a vicious whip kick that hit the enemy's neck. But, unlike usual, he couldn't feel muscle tearing and bones breaking. Instead, he felt like he kicked a wall of flesh.

" As expected of top-brass. Their defense is amazing."

" Flattery won't let you leave alive, you know?"

Both of them engaged in a flashy slugfest, each trying to take advantage over other with merely martial arts. Hiiro ducked a high kick, and pulled out his gun. Surprisingly, he could read the trajectory and dodged the bullet fired from nearly point-blank range.

They put on some distance after that brief exchange. Hiiro opened his palm, dropping three poisoned needles to the floor. Apparently, he wasn't the only one with the idea of a point-blank strike. And somehow, he managed to aim at the back of his neck with that kind of position.

" Aaww~ I thought I got you, little demon~"

Hiiro balled his fist in annoyance, as the needles had some light element mixed in, causing a little damage to his skin. On the other hand, the priest's cheek was grazed by the magic bullet, causing a shallow bleeding cut.

His instincts screamed as he looked up, spotting a huge golden fireball flung at him. Taking out his blade, he slashed apart the spell, and aimed the muzzle at the wizard. However, the shrapnel he shot wasn't strong enough to break the barrier around him. Left with no choice, he charged head-on, intending on eliminating her with brute force.

Before his blade could reach him, a tower shield literally bashed him aside, breaking the wall across. The strength was nothing to scoff at, and such speed... Hiiro shook his head, and pulled himself out from that crack, only to find a huge lance nailing where his heart previously was.

Again, several knives assaulted him, turning the wall and floor to pincushion. He was even hurt by them, but nothing too serious with blut vene. He picked out his guns and started shooting, but the tank of that team managed to somehow get in time and block the bullets perfectly.

" You know, why we keep up your fox here, little fella?"

Another one, brandising a broadsword, sliced at him while flashing his winning smile. His mad tone hadn't dulled his swordsmanship in the slightest. Hiiro could feel the danger crawling like ants on his skin. Without even knowing them before, he knew that they were the best at what they were doing. Each of them, either with swords, magecraft, assassination, or shield, had the power unlike the opponents he'd been facing so far.

" Divine power works best with holy power. Getting it is a damn hassle, though... But, imagine strapping a divine beast on this device. Amazing, right?"

He knew, that they were assassins.

" Add in the bonus of getting a demon prince! This city's a gold mine!"

He knew, that mental attacks and distractions were the very basics of defeating an opponent, and just another method to kill.

And true, they were getting more and more aggresive as the mental attack intensified. The spells and knives were getting more and more accurate, and it was getting harder to perfectly dodge everything.

To be brutally honest, they were really grating on his nerves.

His eyes turned red, with peculiar symbols spinning inside. Immediately, red lines appeared on his arm, extending to his fist. He caught the hand wielding the blade, and struck its wielder hard in the gut. Once he bent over, Hiiro launched a brutal knee to the face. The swordsman was flung back, but the assassin rushed over from a blindspot, binding his hand with a chain and aiming his knife at the throat.

A very advanced and dangerous assassination techinique. This guy is definitely worth going all out on, Hiiro thought. Instead of defending, Hiiro had kicked the man's abdomen without holding back, and sent him flying across the room. That technique had one flaw, that it would also put down his own defense.

In other words, if the target didn't get shocked enough to make them get heart attack, and they had clear mind, there's a good chance he'd be the one dead instead.

His physical abilities had explosively increased due to feeding his own muscles and nerves with blood magic. Even the charging paladin's shield charge, he put to a halt. Then, grabbing a part of the armor, he lifted him and slammed on the floor without mercy.

" You all really have a deathwish, strolling around and assaulting Tamamo. Pray to God, bastards, pray for mercy. 'Cause I'm not about to show you any!"

His words were cold and full of loathing. The plan they'd hatched backfired. Instead of getting benefits, they'd stepped on a tiger's tail, and now it's hungry for flesh. His scarlet eyes struck fear to them, and they knew, their chances of dying weren't as low as they thought.

In terms of pure physical strength, he was in a different league than them. His mastery of blood magic made him a deadly foe, and more importantly, he was dead set on exterminating them from the face of earth.

" May God's will be exacted on earth! Praise God for His endless blessing for us sinners!"

" Praise the Lord."

" May God's name be glorified until the end of time."

" Praise the Lord."

They started chanting prayers, and somehow, the air became thicker. Holy energy permeated the place, enough to suffocate a normal devil to death. Light cross appeared on each of their heads, hovering and humming with power.

" _What's that?"_

 **{ I may be wrong, but it's resembling something called divine connection. One of the church's trump cards, but honestly, I don't really know what it does.}**

" _Let's not find out."_

Whatever it could be, only something nasty could obtain the title 'trump card' for an organization like church. He wasn't about to let them hold another advantage by becoming more troublesome than they were already. Pressing the trigger while swinging the blade in a wide arc, he sent out a hail of shrapnel in shape of a crescent. The explosive power should've been enough to blast them to a pile of gore, or at least when they had their guard so low for the ritual like that.

The strike collided with a loud boom and exploded, throwing debris everywhere and raising a smokescreen.

He bulged his eyes at the sight in front of him. No one was damaged at all. Even though he focused the blast at the mage who should've had the weakest defense of the bunch, but even she wasn't injured at all. All his attack managed to achieve was blowing off their capes, revealing their gender and combat attires.

They all wore standard robes, albeit with several protective and helpful runes embedded, along with an armor that had even stronger protection spells on. There were some differences here and there, but it was easily noticeable that they were all made by the same blacksmith, a very high-quality at that.

Still, even with such protection, he couldn't believe his strike couldn't even make a dent. His answer came when they opened their eyes. All of them had glowing golden eyes, and pearly white sphere of light surrounding their bodies.

" What in the world?"

The only one capable of escaping that unscathed was the paladin due to his particular defensive buff blessing. However, all of them had escaped easily even without the paladin shielding them. His reaction was not that far off.

During the brief period of shock, the assassin had snuck behind him and pressed his palm near his ribs. Feeling danger, Hiiro swung his elbow to break the hold and guard against whatever trick he had, but he didn't expect a high-tier fire spell erupting from that hand. He was launched like a bullet across the underground lab, colliding with a wall and cracking it with pure kinetic force. Even then, his body was buried quite deeply inside.

He vomited a mouthful of blood that turned to scarlet mist before it could touch the concrete floor. It immediately joined the intense swirling of mist around his body, sometimes being absorbed back to ensure his body never became too low on blood. His left arm was burnt black by the holy flame, and unable to recover as quickly as usual.

" Damn it!"

He regained his clarity and pushed himself out of the wall. Looking at the group with more caution than before, he analyzed the possibilities. Normal methods should've been unable to let them have access to techniques and blessings others had, so it definitely wasn't something simple.

Racking his brains to gain even the slightest clue while fending off assaults of compressed strength of those knights was not an easy task. Luckily, his physical strength still slightly higher than them. Even though their powers were lethal, he could still recover and fight as long as he didn't receive too much.

" _It can't be…Soul connection?"_

 **{ Plausible, especially if you take into account their faith. That might be able to form the glue to stick their foundation together.}**

" Better than nothing. It's safe to assume that all their powers are merged and capable of being unleashed by any one of them."

To have all their powers focused and ready in battle was such an unfair advantage. Perhaps they weren't as proficient as the original user, but even that was already more than enough for life-saving measure. Moreover, the more variety of abilities each person possessed, the more trump cards available for ALL of them.

Even then, he had a feeling that this method had something more inside. There was no way the trump card would end up being just a soul connection.

There was… something more dangerous.

Quickly unleashing his blade, Hiiro kept them at bay for some time. However, eventually his physical strength was unable to hold out, slowly succumbing to integrated and continuous barrage of attacks. His long-range means to attack were too feeble to penetrate the paladin's protection blessing, let alone his tower shield. Moreover, it was like they had eyes behind their backs. The numerous times he managed to sneak behind, all failed. He didn't expect that connection would be sticky enough to even share senses with one another, to the point the four of them were an individual.

" Gah!"

The paladin's shield bash sent him sprawling at the floor. He quickly knelt, and tried to stand up, but his legs had grown weak. Mustering strength towards any part of the body could only be considered a fool's errand for him now. He stumbled and fell backwards, leaning against the now partially red wall. Their battle had been bloody, with both his and their blood crashing down the wall and floor. His wounds were far more grievous, though.

His sight had become hazy.

" What…do…you…?

" Hohoho. Slow there, little demon. I think you're quite close to deathbed, aren't ya? Better to stay down for a while."

The swordsman kicked him down at his slightest struggle, bringing all his effort to nothing more than bitter disappointment. He smirked, revealing a row of pencil-sharp teeth. Hiiro had a hard time believing this person wasn't a full-blown cannibal. His eyes were like cat's, and they pierced like his scalp when he pulled up his face by hair and turned him to Tamamo's chamber.

" Look at her. Ain't she gorgeous?"

He previously thought he was pointing at Tamamo, but that wasn't it. Aside the chamber, there was another capsule with a pedestal inside. A golden claymore gradually formed inside, emanating bright luster from its broad blade. That sight made him realize, what he'd called 'gorgeous'.

That… That abomination made from Tamamo's blood and energy, combined with holy power. He bit his lips until it bled, cursing his own weakness. He just wasn't strong enough to surpass them and save her! Without power, how could he hope to achieve anything? In this cruel world, the things awaiting the weak were pain and suffering. To reach higher, one must predate others, as every living beings, no matter how pure, stood on a mountain of corpses.

" We have to thank that fox there. You know, when we came to her, she pleaded to let you go. She came with us obediently, fully knowing it'll turn out this way, just to ensure your safety. Yet ungrateful bastard still comes. HAH!"

Once again, he kneed him in the face.

" One of our brothers was killed by your cheap ploy. This pain is nothing compared to losing a life-death comrade. You said something about mercy, let's agree. We're not about to show you any."

The paladin spat out, and once again he was flung away. No resistance could be offered as his body became weak after using too much blood magic in short span of time. Even moving proved to be too difficult compared to curl around and die.

" Well the sword's done. Why don't we test it? We've got the perfect rat to test it with, after all."

The swordsman pointed the finished golden claymore at the fallen demon. Seeing Hiiro's eyes turning dim with despair, his face adopted a sadistic smirk.

" Or let's say, fox."

He quickly raised his hand and dashed with assassin's speed towards Tamamo's capsule, ready to impale her heart. With a crazy glint, he felt resistance of flesh and bones on his sword. Chuckling insanely, he opened his eyes to feast at the sight in front on him, ignoring the strange feelings from the connection.

Indeed, the place had pierced flesh, but it just felt wrong. He just noticed he never felt the resistance of the capsule's glass. He raised his eyes, only to see the one impaled was not the fox goddess, but Hiiro. The swordsman whistled in amazement.

" You're really something else. I never thought you'd be able to move after being roughed up that much…"

He thought, if they'd been lenient for one second with the divine connection, this guy might just turn the tables. Possibly, they were the ones lying on the ground, half-dead if they let down the guard.

They were fortunate to adhere to their instinct and kept pressuring him carefully, draining him dry. Even then, he was able to move faster than his hand, shielding the fox goddess with his own body. Really, a tiger showed its true fangs only when cornered.

" A shame, but this is the end."

" A man, to the very end, he is. If he weren't a demon, he'd make a fine comrade. Who knows?"

What they didn't know, was that the sword had indeed cut through the glass. It might not have pierced her, but the capsule was broken nonetheless, setting her free. Her consciousness fluttered open, almost like waking up from deep coma. But, the moment she laid eyes on him, all hell broke loose.

Fire, everything was set ablaze with dazzling blue flames. Around them was a fire wall thick and hot enough to even melt the floor and reduce both metal capsules to a pile of smoldering goo. While the goddess' flames should've been divine and compelling, this time she released flames that earned her the name of calamity. Her eyes while teary, were cold enough to freeze their blood solid.

" I told you all… I agreed to your silly plot for one, simple, favor. NOT to hurt him in any way…"

She stopped to bite her wrist and had Hiiro drink the blood dripping. Her warm eyes were only directed at him, while for them, the coldness of Cocytus. She opened her mouth again, her voice dripping with venom.

" If… he drew his last breath… the whole Shinto faction will eradicate you. He is the one that takes care of minor gods and goddesses shrines… For that alone, we're indebted to him. We, no, I, fox goddess Tamamo, will hunt you to the end of the world! Mark my words, paladins of church."

Let alone run, they couldn't even move. Divine sealing might've been able to capture and control divine beings to certain extent, but the being had to deliberately lower her power to be captured. Moreover, this goddess was the primordial fox.

There was a reason why they were called divine being, after all.

Likewise, her blood was extremely potent. Even on the verge of death, he was slowly recuperating. His wounds healed, and his face became a little more relaxed compared to before. The ones outside could only grit their teeth as Hiiro slowly became healthier by the second.

When Hiiro had regained enough vitality to move his body, his eyes snapped open, and he jumped in front of her in pure instinct. He hadn't been completely conscious yet, in fact he was barely keeping himself up.

" Stay… away…"

His hair shadowed his face, as his hands shot forward. Her body was feeling anemic, as an enormous amount of her blood were given to Hiiro. Moreover, she hadn't even recuperated from her time sapped inside the capsule.

He was enraged, to say the least.

Wasting no time and effort, he summoned one of the most destructive spells blood magic had to offer. Previously, he couldn't risk being interrupted while casting, but now, the fire wall defended them magnificently. Normally, he wouldn't even consider using this, but right now, his instincts had taken control. A deep scarlet orb, tinted with dark miasma inside appeared on his hand, and he threw it at their general direction.

Divine blood greatly enhanced his strength by several folds. The paladins chose to scatter and dodge instead of taking that head on. Their senses screamed bloody danger the moment that horrifying orb was released, and they adhered.

Thing is, the spell that Hiiro cast was named 'Blood Desecration'.

The orb flew not too fast, not too slow, but it contained incredible sucking ability. It sucked everything around it, either air, debris, or maybe some humans with divine connection. In just a few seconds, the neat and tidy high-tech lab was reduced to unrecognizable ruins. Those paladins also couldn't resist being sucked into the hole created from blood magic empowered with divine power.

Also, Hiiro's unimaginable hatred and dark emotions clouding his mid had turned the spell to a destruction incarnate. After it'd sucked to its limits, the orb compressed, and exploded like an atomic bomb. The building, from basement to uppermost floors, had been thoroughly eliminated without a trace. All that was left was a huge crater as deep as the basement reached before, and the capsules containing the experimental weapons.

" You are too much."

" I can't believe your blood is this strong, Tama-chan. Can you blame me for losing control like that? Besides, they hurt you."

His wounds spurted blood again as he fell on his knees again. The divine blood had restored his energy and vitality, but the wounds were still apparent, and in need for time to completely heal. Especially a large laceration on his left chest, one inch from his heart. Previously, it was a gaping hole, but now it was a severe laceration. With that kind wound, he was lucky not to be crippled.

Gulping in a mouthful of blood back to his system, he hoisted Tamamo up and turned to the capsule containing the rest of those abominable experimental weapons, finished before the claymore.

" Now, what should we do?"

* * *

 **The next chapter will conclude the Kokabiel arc. Again, I'm sorry about the (very) late update. Enjoy reading, cheers, and leave a comment down below!**


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